
Class BVt f?3» 



PRESENTED BY 



1^34 



THE 



SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST: 



OR, 



A TREATISE 



BLESSED STATE OF THE SAINTS, 



THEIR ENJOYMENT OP GOD IN GLORY. 



EXTRACTED FROM THE WORKS OF 

MR. RICHARD BAXTER, 



BY JOHN WESLEY, M. A. 

LATE FELLOW OF LINCOLN COLLEGE, OXFORD, 



NEW-YORK, 

PUBLISHED BYB.WAUGHANDT. MASON, 

FOR THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, AT THE CONFERENCE 

OFFICE, 200 MULBERRY-ST. 

J. Collord, Printer 
1834. 






m 



CONTENTS. 



PART L 

Chapter I. This rest defined Page 7 

II. What this rest presupposeth 11 

III. What this rest containeth 13 

IV. The four great preparations to our rest 23 

V. The excellencies of our rest 32 

VI. The people of God described 51 

The conclusion 59 

PART II. 

I. The inconceivable misery of the ungodly in their loss of 

this rest 60 

II. The aggravation of the loss of heaven to the ungodly. ... 64 

III. They shall lose all things comfortable, as well as heaven 74 

IV. The greatness of the torments of the damned discovered 79 

V. The second use, — reprehending the general neglect of 

this rest, and exciting to diligence in seeking it 87 

VI. An exhortation to seriousness in seeking rest 96 

VII. The third use, — persuading all men to try their title to 

this rest; and directing them how to try, that they 
may know 112 

VIII. Further causes of doubting among Christians 120 

IX. Containing directions for examination, and some marks 

of trial 123 

X. The reason of the saints' afflictions here 126 

XL An exhortation to those that have got assurance of this 

rest, that they would do all they possibly can to help 

others to it 1 33 

XII. An advice to some more particularly, to help others to 

this rest 157 

PART IS. 

I. Reproving our expectations of rest on earth 179 

II. Motives to heavenly mindedness 187 

III. Containing some hinderances of heavenly mindedness . . 202 

IV. Some general helps to heavenly mindedness 210 

V. A description of heavenly contemplation 217 

VI. The fittest time and place for this contemplation, and the 

preparation of the heart unto it 223 

VII. W^hat affections must be acted, and by what considera- 

tions and objects, and in what order 230 

VIII. Some advantages and helps for raising the soul by medi- 

tation 240 

IX. How to manage and watch over the heart through the 

whole work 251 

X. An example of this heavenly contemplation, for the help 

of the unskilful *. 255 

The conclusion 268 



TO THE 

INHABITANTS OF KIDDERMINSTER. 

My Dear Friends, — If either I or my labours have any 
thing of public use or worth, it is wholly (though not only) 
yours. And I am convinced by Providence, that it is the 
will of God it should be so. This I clearly discerned in 
my first coming to you, in my former abode with you, and 
in the time of my forced absence from you. When I was 
separated by the miseries of the late unhappy war, I durst 
not fix in any other congregation, but lived in a military 
unpleasing state, lest I should forestall my return to you. 
The offers of greater worldly accommodations were no 
temptation to me once to question whether I should leave 
you: your free invitation of my return, your obedience to 
my doctrine, the strong affection which I have yet toward 
you above all people, and the general hearty return of love 
which I find from you, do all persuade me, that I was sent 
into the world especially for the service of your souls: and 
that even when I am dead I might be yet a help to your 
salvation, the Lord hath forced me, quite beside my own 
resolution, to write this treatise, and leave it in your hands. 
It was far from my thoughts ever to have become thus 
public, and burthened the world with any writing of mine ; 
therefore have I often resisted the request of my reverend 
brethren, and some superiors, who might else have com- 
manded much more at my hands. But see how God over 
ruleth and crosseth our resolutions ! 

Being in my quarters far from home, cast into extreme 
languishing, (by the sudden loss of about a gallon of blood, 
after many years foregoing weakness,) and having no 
acquaintance about me, nor any book but ray Bible, and 
living in continual expectation of death, I bent my thoughts 
on my everlasting rest : and because my memory, through 
extreme weakness, was imperfect, I took my pen and began 
to draw up my own funeral sermon, or some help for my 
own meditations of heaven, to sweeten both the rest of my 
life, and my death. In this condition God was pleased to 
continue me about five months from home; where, being 
able for nothing else, I went on with this work, which 
lengthened to this which you here see. It is no wonder, 
therefore, if I be too abrupt in the beginning, seeing I then 
intended but the length of a sermon or two. Much less 
may you wonder if the whole be very imperfect, seeing it 
was written, as it were, with one foot in the grave, by a 
man that was betwixt the living and dead, that wanted 
strength of nature to quicken invention, or affection, and 



6 

had no book but his Bible, while the chief part was finished. 
But how sweet is this Providence now to my review, which 
so happily forced me to that work of meditation, which I 
had formerly found so profitable to my soul ! and showed 
me more mercy, in depriving me of other helps, than I was 
aware of! and hath caused my thoughts to feed on this 
heavenly subject, which hath more benefited me than all 
the studies of my life. 

And now, dear friends, such as it is, I here offer it you ; 
and upon the knees of my soul, I offer up my thanks to the 
merciful God, who hath fetched up both me and it, as from 
the grave, for your service : who reversed the sentence cl 
present death, which by the ablest physicians was passed 
upon me : who interrupted my public labours for a time, 
that he might trace me to do you a more lasting service, 
which else I had never been like to have attempted ! That 
God do I heartily bless and magnify, who hath rescued 
me from the many dangers of four years war, and after so 
many tedious nights and days, and so many doleful sights 
and tidings, hath returned me, and many of yourselves, and 
reprieved us now to serve him in peace ! And though men 
be ungrateful, and my body ruined beyond hope of recovery, 
yet he hath made up all in the comforts I have in you. To 
the God of mercy I do here offer up my most hearty thanks, 
who hath not rejected my prayers, but hath by a wonder 
delivered me in the midst of my duties ; and hath supported 
me these fourteen years in a languishing state, wherein I 
have scarce had a waking hour free from pain : who hath 
above twenty several times delivered me when I was near 
death. And though he hath made me spend my days in 
groans and tears, and in a constant expectation of my change, 
yet he hath not wholly disabled me for his service ; and 
hereby hath more effectually subdued my pride, and made 
this world contemptible to me, and forced my dull heart to 
more importunate requests, and occasioned more rare dis- 
coveries of his mercy than ever I could have expected in a 
prosperous state. 



THE 



SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 

«.« There reraaineth therefore a rest to the people of God," Hebrews iv, ». 

CHAPTER I. 

THIS REST DEFINED. 

It was not only our interest in God, and actual fruition ol 
him, which was lost in Adam's fall ; but all spiritual know- 
ledge of him, and true disposition toward such felicity. 
Man hath now a heart too suitable to his estate; a low 
state, and a low spirit. As the poor man that would not 
believe that any one man had such a sum as a hundred 
pounds, it was so far above what he possessed ; so man 
will hardly now believe, that there is su^h a happiness as 
once he had, much less as Christ hath now procured. 

The apostle bestows most of this epistle in proving to the 
Jews, that the end of all ceremonies and shadows, is to 
direct them to Jesus Christ, the substance ; and that the 
rest of sabbaths, and Canaan, should teach them to look for 
a future rest. My text is his conclusion after divers argu- 
ments to that end ; a conclusion so useful to a believer, as 
containing the ground of all his comforts, the end of all his 
duty and sufferings, that you may easily be satisfied why I 
have made it the subject of my present discourse. What 
more welcome to men under afflictions, than rest? What 
more welcome news to men under public calamities ? 
Hearers, I pray God your entertainment of it be hut half 
answerable to the excellency of the subject ; and then you 
will have cause to bless God, while you live, that ever you 
heard it, as I have th^t ever I studied it. 

Let us see, 1. What this rest is. 2. What these people of 
God, and why so called. 3. The truth of this from other 
scripture arguments. 4. Why this rest must yet remain. 
5. Why only to the people of God. 6. What use to make 
of it. 

And though the sense of the text includes, in the word 
rest, all that ease and safety which a soul, wearied with the 
burden of sin and suffering, and pursued by law, wrath, and 
conscience, hath with Christ in this life, the rest of grace ; 
yet because it chiefly intends the rest of eternal glory, I 
shall confine my discourse to this. 



8 THE SAINT'8 EVERLASTING REST. 

The rest here in question is, the most happy estate of a 
Christian having obtained the end of his course : or, -it ia 
the perfect endless fruition of God by the perfected saints, 
according to the measure of their capacity, to which their 
souls arrive at death ; and both soul and body most fully 
after the resurrection and final judgment. 

1. 1 call it the estate of a Christian, to note both the active 
and passive fruition, wherein a Christian's blessedness lies, 
and the established continuance of both. Our title will be 
perfect, and perfectly cleared ; ourselves, and so our capa- 
city perfected ; our possession and security for its perpetuity 
perfect ; our reception from God perfect ; and therefore our 
fruition of him, and consequently our happiness, will then 
be perfect. And this is the estate which we now briefly 
mention, and shall afterwards more fully describe. 

2. I call it the most happy estate, to difference it not only 
from all seeming happiness which is to be found in the 
enjoyment of creatures, but also from all those beginnings, 
foretastes, and imperfect degrees which we have in this life. 

3. I call it the estate of a Christian, where I mean only 
the sincere, regenerate, sanctified Christian, whose soul 
having discovered that excellency in God through Christ, 
closeth with him, and is cordially set upon him. 

4. I add, That this happiness consists in obtaining the 
end where I mean the ultimate and principal end, not any 
subordinate or less principal end. O how much doth our 
everlasting state depend on our right judgment and estima 
tion of our end ! 

But it is a doubt with many, whether the attainment of 
this glory may be our end? Nay, concluded, that it is 
mercenary; yea, that to make salvation the end of duty, is 
to be a legalist, and act under a covenant of works, whose 
tenor is, " Do this and live." And many that think it may 
be our end, yet think it may not be our ultimate end ; for 
that should be only the glory of God. I shall answer these 
briefly. 

1. It is properly called mercenary, when we expect it as 
wages for work done ; and so we may not make it our end. 
Otherwise it is only such a mercenariness as Christ cora- 
mandeth. For consider what this end is ; it is the fruition 
of God in Christ ; and if seeking Christ be mercenary, I 
desire to be so mercenary. 

2. It is not a note of a legalist neither. It hath been the 
ground of a multitude of late mistakes in divinity, to think 
that " Do this and live," is only the language of the covenant 
of works. It is true, in some sense it is; but in other, not. 
The law of works only saith, Do tlus (that is, perfectly fulfil 
the whole law,) and live; (that is, for so doing.) But the 



THE SAINT S EVERLASTING REST. 9 

law of grace saith, " Do this and live," too : that is, believe 
in Christ, seek him, obey him sincerely, as thy Lord and 
King : forsake all, suffer all things, and overcome, and by so 
doing, or in so doing, you shall live. If you set up the 
abrogated duties of the law again, you are a legalist; if 
you set up the duties of the gospel in Christ's stead, in 
whole or in part, you err still. Christ hath his place and 
work ; duty hath its place and work too : set it but in its 
own place, and expect from it but its own part, and you go 
right: yea more, (how unsavoury soever the phrase may 
seem,) you may, so far as this comes to, trust to your duty 
and works, that is, for their own part ; and many miscarry 
in expecting nothing from them, (as to pray, and to expect 
nothing the more,) that is, from Christ in a way of duty. 
For if duty have no share, why may we not trust Christ as 
well in a way of disobedience as duty? In a word, you 
must both use and trust duty in subordination to Christ, 
but neither use them nor trust them in co-ordination with 
him- So that this derogates nothing from Christ; for he 
hath done, and will do, all his work perfectly, and enableth 
his people to do theirs ; yet he is not properly said to do it 
himself; he believes not, repents not, but worketh these in 
them ; that is, enableth and exciteth them to it. No man 
must look for more from duty than God hath laid upon it ; 
and so much we may and must. 

3. If I should quote all the scriptures that plainly prove 
this, I should transcribe a great part of the Bible : 1 will 
therefore only desire you to study what tolerable interpret- 
ation can be given of the following places, which will not 
prove that life and salvation may be, yea, must be, the end 
of duty. John v, 40, " Ye will not come to me, that ye 
might have life." Matt, xii, 12, " The kingdom of heaven 
suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force." Matt, 
vii, 13 ; Luke xiii, 24, " Strive to enter in at the strait gate." 
Phil, ii, 12, " Work out your own salvation with fear and 
trembling." Romans ii, 7, 10, "To them who by patient 
continuance in well doing, seek for glory, and honour, and 
immortality, eternal life. Glory, honour, and peace, to 
every man that worketh good." 1 Cor. ix, 24, " So run 
that ye may obtain." 2 Tim. ii, 12, " If we suffer with him, 
we bhall reign with him." 1 Tim. vi, 12, " Fight the good 
fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life." 1 Tim. vi, 18, 19, 
"That they do good works, laying up a good foundation 
against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal 
life." Revelation xxii, 14, " Blessed are they that do his 
commandments, that they may have right to the tree of 
life, and enter in by the gates into the city." Matt. xxv,. 
34-36, " Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit," &,c. "For 



10 THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 

I was a hungered, and ye," &c. Luke xi, 28, " Blessed 
are they that hear the word of God, and keep it." Yea, the 
escaping of hell is a right end of duty to a believer: Heb. 
iv, 1, "Let us fear, lest a promise being left us of entering 
into his rest, any of you should come short of it." Luke 
xii, 5, " Fear him that is able to destroy both soul and body 
in hell ; yea," (whatsoever others say) " I say unto you, fear 
him." 1 Cor. ix, 27, " I keep under my body, and bring it into 
subjection ; lest, when I have preached to others, I myself 
should be a castaway." Multitudes of scriptures and scrip- 
ture arguments might be brought, but these may suffice to 
any that believe Scripture. 

4. For those that think this rest may be our end, but not 
our ultimate end, that must be God's glory only : I will not 
gainsay them. Only let them consider, " What God hath 
joined, man must not separate." The glorifying himself, 
and the saving of his people, (as I judge,) are not two ends 
with God, but one ; to glorify his mercy in their salvation ; 
so I think they should be with us together intended : we 
should aim at the glory of God not alone considered without 
our salvation, but in our salvation. Therefore I know no 
warrant for putting such a question to ourselves, as some do, 
Whether we could be content to be damned, so God were 
glorified ? Christ hath put no such questions to us, nor bid 
us put such to ourselves. Christ had rather that men would 
inquire after their true willingness to be saved, than their 
willingness to be damned. Sure I am, Christ himself is 
offered to faith, in terms for the most part respecting the 
welfare of the sinner, more than his own abstracted glory. 
He would be received as a Saviour, mediator, redeemer, 
reconciler, and intercessor. And all the precepts of Scripture 
being backed with so many promises and threatenings, every 
one intended of God as a motive to us, imply as much. 

5. I call a Christian's happiness the end of his course, 
thereby meaning, as Paul, 2 Tim. iv, 7, the whole scope of 
his life. For salvation may and must be our end ; and not 
only the end of our faith, (though that principally,) but of all 
our actions : for as whatsoever we do must be done to the 
glory of God. so must they ail be done to our salvation. 

6. Lastly. I make happiness to consist in this end obtained ; 
for it is not the mere promise of it that immediately makes 
perfectly happy, nor Christ's mere purchase, nor our mere 
seeking, but the apprehending and obtaining, which sets the 
crown on the saint's head. 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 11 

CHAPTER II. 

WHAT THIS REST PRESUPPOSETH. 

For the clearer understanding the nature of this rest, you 
must know, 

I. There are some things presupposed to it. 

II. Some things contained in it. 

I. AJ1 these things are presupposed to this rest. 

1. A person in motion, seeking rest. This is man here in 
the way: angels have it already; and the devils are past hope. 

2. An end toward which he moveth for rest. This can 
be only God. He that taketh any thing else for happiness, 
is out of the way the first step. The principal damning sin 
is, to make any thing besides God our end or rest. And the 
first true saving act is, to choose God only for our end and 
happiness. 

3. A distance is presupposed from this end, else there can 
be no motion toward it. This sad distance is the case of all 
mankind since the fall : it was our God that we principally 
lost, and were shut out of his gracious presence, and since 
are said to be without him in the world : nay, in all men at 
age here, is supposed not only a distance, but also a contrary 
motion. When Christ comes with regenerating, saving 
grace, he finds no man sitting still, but all posting to eternal 
ruin ; till by conviction, he first brings them to a stand, and 
by conversion, turns first their hearts, and then their lives 
to himself. 

4. Here is presupposed the knowledge of the true ultimate 
end and its excellency ; and a serious intending it. For so 
the motion of the rational creature proceedeth. An unknown 
end is no end ; it is a contradiction. We cannot make that 
our end which we know not; nor that our chief end which 
we know not, or judge not, to be the chief good. Therefore, 
where this is not known that God is this end, there is no 
obtaining rest in any ordinary way, whatsoever may be in 
ways that by God are kept secret. 

5. Here is presupposed, not only a distance from this rest, 
but also the true knowledge of this distance. If a man have 
lost his way, and know it not, he seeks not to return: 
therefore they that never knew they were without God, 
never yet enjoyed him : and they that never knew they 
were actually in the way to hell, did never yet know the 
way to heaven. Nay, there will not only be a knowledge of 
this distance and lost estate, but affections answerable. Can 
a man find himself on the brink of hell, and not tremble ? 
Or find he hath lost his God and his soul, and not cry out, 
/ am undone ? 



12 THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 

6. Here is also presupposed a superior moving cause, 
else should we all stand still, and not move a step forward 
toward our rest, no more than the inferior wheels in the 
watch would stir if you take away the spring, or the first 
mover. This is God. If God move us not, we cannot move. 
Therefore it is a most necessary part of our Christian wisdom 
to keep our subordination to God, and dependence on hirn ; 
to be still in the path where he walks, and in that way where 
his Spirit doth most usually move. 

7. Here is presupposed an internal principle of life in the 
person. God moves not man like a stone, but by enduing 
him first with life, not to enable him to move without God, 
but thereby to qualify him to move himself, in subordination 
to God, the first mover. 

8. Here is presupposed also such a motion as is rightly 
ordered and directed toward the end. Not all motion or 
labour brings to rest. Every way leads not to this end ; but 
he whose goodness hath appointed the end, hath in his 
wisdom, and by his sovereign authority, appointed the way. 
Christ is the door, the only way to this rest. Some will 
allow nothing else to be called the way, lest it derogate from 
Christ. The truth is, Christ is the only way to the Father; 
yet faith is the way to Christ ; and gospel obedience, or 
faith and works, the wav for those to walk in, that are in 
Christ. 

9. There is supposed also a strong and constant motion, 
which may reach the end. The lazy world, that think all 
too much, will find this to their cost one day. They that 
think less ado might have served, do but reproach Christ 
for making us so much to do. They that have been most 
holy, watchful, painful to get to heaven, find, when they 
come to die, all too little. We see daily the best Christians, 
when dying, repent their negligence : I never knew any then 
repent his holiness and diligence. It would grieve a man's 
soul to see a multitude of mistaken sinners lay out their 
care and pains for a thing of nought, and think to have 
eternal salvation with a wish. If the way to heaven be not 
far harder than the world imagines, Christ and his apostles 
knew not the way ; for they have t:)ld us, " That the 
kingdom of heaven suffereth violence ; that the gate is strait 
and the way narrow, and we must strive, if we will enter; 
for many shall seek to enter, and not be able ;" (which 
implies the faintness of their seeking, and that they put not 
strength to the work,) and that " the righteous themselves 
are scarcely saved." 

I have seen this doctrine also thrown by with contempt 
by others, who say, What! do ye set us a working for 
heaven*. Doth our duty do any thing? Hath not Christ 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 13 

done all ? Is not this to make him a half Saviour, and to 
preach the law ? 

Answer. It is to preach the law of Christ ; his subjects 
are not lawless: it is to preach duty to Christ. None a 
more exact requirer of duty, or hater of sin, than Christ. 
Christ hath done, and will do, all his work ^ and therefore is 
a perfect Saviour : but yet leaves us a work to do. He hath 
paid all the price, and left us none to pay ; yet he never 
intended his purchase should put us into absolute title to 
glory, in point of law, much less into immediate possession. 
He hath purchased the crown to bestow only on condition 
of believing, denying all for him, suffering with him, perse 
vering, and overcoming. He hath purchased justification 
to bestow only on condition of believing, yea, repenting and 
believing : though it is Christ that enableth also to perform 
the condition. It is not a Saviour offered, but received also, 
that must save. It is not the blood of Christ shed only, but 
applied also, that must fully deliver ; nor is it applied to the 
justification or salvation of a sleepy soul. Nor doth Christ 
carry us to heaven in a chair of security. Our righteousness, 
which the law of works requireth, and by which it is satis- 
fied, is wholly in Christ, and not one grain in ourselves : 
nor must we dare to think of patching up a legal righteous- 
ness of 'Christ's and our own together ; that is, that our 
doings can be the least part of satisfaction for our sins. But 
yet ourselves must personally fulfil the conditions of the 
new covenant, and so have the perfect evangelical right- 
eousness, or never be saved by Christ's righteousness. 
Therefore say not it is not duty, but Christ ; for it is Christ 
in a way of duty. As duty cannot do it without Christ, so 
Christ will not do it without duty. 

And as this motion must be strong, so must it be constant, 
or it will fall short of rest. To begin in the spirit, and end 
in the flesh, will not bring to the end of the saints. Men as 
holy as the best of us, have fallen off. Read but the promises, 
Revelation ii and iii, " to him that overcometh." Christ's 
own disciples must be commanded to continue in his love, 
and that by keeping his commandments ; and to abide in 
him, and his word in them : see John xv, 4-7, 9, 10. 



CHAPTER III. 

WHAT THIS REST CONTAINETH. 

There is contained in this rest, 

1. A cessation from motion or action. Not from all action, 
but of that which implies the absence of the end. When we 
have obtained the haven, we have done sailing : when we 

2 



14 THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 

are at our journey's end, we have done with the way. 
Therefore prophesying ceaseth, tongues fail, and knowledge 
shall be done away; that is, so far as it was imperfect. 
There shall be no more prayer, because no more necessity, 
but the full enjoyment of what we prayed for. Neither shall 
we need to fast, and weep, and watch any more, being out of 
the reach of sin and temptations. Nor will there be use 
for instructions and exhortations. Preaching is done : the 
ministry of man ceaseth: sacraments useless: the labourers 
called in, because the harvest is gathered : the unregenerate 
past hope, the saints past fear, for ever. Much less shall 
there be any need of labouring for inferior ends, as here we 
do, seeing they shall all devolve themselves into the ocean 
of the ultimate end, and the lesser good be swallowed up in 
the greatest. 

2. This rest containeth a perfect freedom from all the evils 
that accompany us through our course, and which necessa- 
rily follow our absence from the chief good ; besides our 
freedom from those eternal flames, which the neglecters of 
Christ must endure. There is no such a thing as grief and 
sorrow known there ; nor is there such a thing as a pale 
face, a languid body, feeble joints, unable infancy, decrepit 
age, peccant humours, painful sickness, griping fears, con- 
suming cares, nor whatsoever deserves the name of evil. 
Indeed a gale of groans and sighs, a stream of tears, accom- 
panied us to the very gates, and there bid us farewell for 
ever. " We did weep and lament, when the world did 
rejoice; but our sorrow is turned into joy, and our joy shall 
no man take from us." 

3. This rest containeth the highest degree of perfection, 
both of soul and body. This qualifies them to enjoy the 
glory, and thoroughly to partake the sweetness of it. Were 
the glory never so great, and themselves not made capable 
of it, it would be little to them. But the more perfect the 
appetite, the sweeter the food. The more musical the ear, 
the more pleasant the melody. The more perfect the soul, 
the more joyous those joys, and the more glorious is that 
glory. Nor is it only sinful imperfection that is removed, 
nor only that which is the fruit of sin, but that which 
adhered to us in our pure nature. There is far more pro- 
cured by Christ, than was lost by Adam. It is the misery 
of wicked men here, that all without them is mercy, but 
within them a heart full of sin shuts the door against all, 
and makes them but the more miserable. When all is well 
within, then all is well indeed. Therefore will God, as a 
special part of his saints' happiness, perfect themselves as 
well as their condition. 

4. This rest containeth, as the principal part, our nearest 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 15 

fruition of God. As all good whatsoever is comprised in 
God, and all in the creature are but drops of this ocean, so 
all the glory of the blessed is comprised in their enjoyment 
of God ; and if there be any mediate joys there, they are 
but drops from this. If men and angels should study to 
speak the blessedness of that estate, in one word, what 
can they say beyond this, That it is the nearest enjoyment 
of God ? Say they have God, and you say they have all 
that is worth the having. O the full joys offered to a believer 
in that one sentence of Christ's ! I would not for all the world 
that verse had been left out of the Bible; " Father, I will that 
those whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am, 
that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me," 
John xvii, 24. Every word is full of life and joy. If the 
queen of Sheba had cause to say of Solomon's glory, " Happy 
are thy men, happy are these thy servants that stand con 
tinually before thee, and that hear thy wisdom ;" then sure 
they that stand continually before God, and see his glory, 
and the glory of the Lamb, are somewhat more thar happy. 
To them will Christ " give to eat of the tree of life, which 
is in the midst of the paradise of God," Rev. ii, 7. 

5. This rest containeth a sweet and constant action of ail 
the powers of the soul and body in this fruition of God. But 
great will the change of our bodies and senses be ; even so 
great as now we cannot conceive. If grace makes a Chris- 
tian differ so much from what he was, that the Christian 
could say to his companion, Ego non sum ego, " I am 
not the man I was," how much more will glory make us 
differ ? We may then say much more, This is not the body 
I had, and these are not the senses I had. Yet because we 
have no other name for them, let us call them senses ; call 
them eyes and ears, seeing and hearing ; but conceive, that 
as much as a body spiritual, above the sun in glory, exceed- 
eth these frail, noisome, diseased lumps of flesh that we 
now carry about us ; so far shall our senses of seeing 
and hearing exceed these we now possess : for the change 
of the senses must be conceived proportionable to the change 
of the body. And doubtless as God advanceth our sense, 
and enlargeth our capacity, so will he advance the happiness 
of those senses, and fill up with himself all that capacity. 
And certainly the body should not be raised up, if it should 
not share in the glory ; for as it hath shared in the obedience 
and sufferings, so shall it also do in the blessedness; and as 
Christ bought the whole man, so shall the whole partake of 
the everlasting benefits of the purchase. 

And if the body shall be thus employed, O how shall the 
soul be taken up ! As its powers and capacities are greatest, 
so its actions are strongest, and its enjoyments sweetest. 



16 THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 

As the bodily senses have their proper aptitude and aetion, 
whereby they receive and enjoy their object; so doth the 
soul in its own action enjoy its own object, by knowing, by 
thinking, and remembering, by loving, and by delightful 
joying ; by these eyes it sees, and by these arms it embraceth. 
If it might be said of the disciples with Christ on earth, 
much more that behold him in his glory, " Blessed are the 
eyes that see the things that you see, and the ears that hear 
the things that you hear : for many princes and great ones 
have desired (and hoped) to see the things that you see, and 
have not seen them," &c, Matt, xiii, 16, 17. 

Knowledge of itself is very desirable. As far as the 
rational soul exceeds the sensitive, so far the delights of a 
philosopher, in discovering the secrets of nature, and know- 
ing the mystery of sciences, exceeds the delights of the 
glutton, the drunkard, and of all voluptuous sensualists 
whatsoever ; so excellent is all truth. What then is their 
delight, who know the God of truth ? What would I not 
give, so that all the uncertain principles in logic, natural 
philosophy, metaphysics, and medicine, were but certain? 
And that my dull, obscure, notions of them were but quick 
and clear ? O what then would 1 not perform or part with, 
to enjoy a clear and true apprehension of the most true 
God ! How noble a faculty of the soul is the understanding ! 
It can compass the earth ; it can measure the sun, moon, 
stars, and heaven ; it can foreknow each eclipse to a minute, 
many years before: yea, but this is the top of all its excel- 
lency, it can know God, who is infinite, who made all these ; 
a little here, and much more hereafter. O the wisdom and 
goodness of our blessed Lord ! He hath created the under- 
standing with a natural bias to truth and its object ; and to 
the prime truth as its prime object : and, lest we should 
turn aside to any creature, he hath kept this as his own 
divine prerogative, not communicable to any creature, *iz. 
to be the prime truth. 

Didst thou never look so long upon the Son of God, till 
thine eyes were dazzled with his astonishing glory ? and did 
not the splendour of it make all things below seem black and 
dark to thee ; when thou lookedst down again, especially in 
the days of suffering for Christ? (when he usually appears 
most manifestly to his people.) Didst thou never see " one 
walking in the midst of the fiery furnace with thee, like the 
Son of God ?" If thou know him, value him as thy life, and 
follow on to know him ; and thou shalt know incomparably 
more than this. Or if I do but renew thy grief, to tell thee 
what thou once didst feel, but now hast lost, I counsel thee 
to " remember whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do 
the first works, and be watchful, and strengthen the things 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 17 

which remain ;" and I dare promise thee (because God hath 
promised) thou shalt see and know that which here thine 
eye could not see, nor thy understanding conceive. Believe 
me, Christians, yea, believe God, you that have known most 
of God in Christ here, it is nothing to that you shall know : 
it scarce, in comparison of that, deserves to be called know- 
ledge. The difference betwixt our knowledge now, and our 
knowledge then, will be as great as that between our fleshly 
bodies now, and our spiritual bodies then. For as these 
bodies, so that knowledge must cease, that a more perfect 
may succeed. Our silly childish thoughts of God, which 
now is the highest we can reach to, must give place to a 
more manly knowledge. 

Marvel not, therefore, how it can be "life eternal to know 
God and his Son Jesus Christ :" to enjoy God and his Christ 
is eternal life, and the soul's enjoying is in knowing. They 
that savour only of earth, and have no way to judge but by 
sense, and never were acquainted with this knowledge of 
God, think it a poor happiness to know God. Let them have 
health, and wealth, and worldly delights, and take you the 
other. Alas, poor men ! they that have made trial of both, 
do not envy your happiness. O that you would come near, 
and taste and try as they have done, and then judge; then 
continue in your former mind, if )'ou can. For our parts 
we say with that knowing apostle, (though the speech may 
seem presumptuous,) 1 John v, 19, 20, " We know that we 
are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness : and 
we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an 
understanding, that we may know him that is true ; and we 
are in him that is true, in his Son Jesus Christ : this is the 
true God and eternal life." The Son of God is come to be 
our head and fountain of life, and hath given us an under- 
standing, that the soul may be made capable to know him 
(God) that is true, the prime truth ; and ive are brought so 
near to this enjoyment, that we are in him that is true; we 
are in him, by being in his Son Jesus Christ : this is the true 
God, and so the fittest object for our understanding ; and 
this knowing of him, and being in him, in Christ, is eternal 
life. 

And doubtless the memory will not be idle in this blessed 
work ; if it be but by looking back, to help the soul to value 
its enjoyment. Our knowledge will be enlarged, not dimi- 
nished ; therefore the knowledge of things past shall not be 
taken away. From that height the saint can look behind 
him and before him : and to compare past with present 
things, must needs raise in the blessed soul an inconceivable 
sense of its condition. To stand on that mount, whence we 
can see the wilderness and Canaan both at once ; to stand 

2* 



18 ' THE S.4IWT 3 EVERLASTING REST. 

in heaven and look back on earth, and weigh them together 
in the balance, how must it transport the soul, and make it 
cry out, Is this the purchase that cost so dear as the blood 
of God ? O blessed price, and thrice blessed love ! Is this 
the end of believing ? Is this the end of the Spirit's work- 
ings ? Have the gales of grace blown me into such a harbour ? 
Is it hither that Christ hath enticed my soul? O blessed 
way, and thrice blessed end ! Is this the glory which the 
Scriptures spoke of, and ministers preached of so much? 
Now I see the gospel indeed is good tidings, even "tidings 
of great joy to all nations !" Are my mourning, my fasting, 
my heavy walking, groanings, and complainings, come to 
this ? Are all my afflictions and fears, all Satan's temptations, 
and the world's scorns, come to this ? O vile nature, that 
resisted such a blessing ! Unworthy soul ! is this the place 
thou earnest so unwilling to ? Was the world too good to 
lose ? Didst thou stick at leaving all, denying all, and 
suffering anything, for this? O false heart ! that had almost 
betrayed me to eternal flames, and lost me this glory ! O 
base flesh \ that would needs have been pleased, though to 
the loss of this felicity ! Didst thou make me to question 
the truth of this glory ? Didst thou draw me to distrust the 
Lord ? My soul, art thou not ashamed that ever thou didst 
question that love that hath brought thee hither ? That thou 
wast jealous of the faithfulness of thy Lord? That thou 
suspectedst his love, when thou shouldst have only suspected 
thyself? That thou didst not live continually transported 
with thy Saviour's love? and that ever thou quenchedst a 
motion of his Spirit? Art thou not ashamed of ail thy hard 
thoughts of such a God ? Of all thy misinterpreting those 
providences, and repining at those ways that have such an 
end ? Now thou art convinced that the ways thou calledst 
hard, and the cup thou calledst bitter, were necessary: that 
thy Lord meant thee better than thou wouldst believe : and 
that thy Redeemer was saving thee, as well when he crossed 
thy desires as when he granted them; as well when he 
broke thy heart, as when he bound it up. No thanks to thee 
for this crown; but to Jehovah and the Lamb for ever. 

Thus as the memory of the wicked will eternally promote 
their torment to look back on the sin committed, the grace 
refused, Christ neglected, and time lost ; so will the memory 
of the saints for ever promote their joys. 

But O the full, the near, the sweet enjoyment, is that of 
the affections, love and joy ; it is near, for love is the essence 
of the soul, and love is the essence y\ God. " God is love, 
and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in 
him." The acting of this affection wheresoever, carrieth 
much delight with it, especially when the object appear* 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 19 

deserving, and the affection is strong. But what will it be 
when perfect affections shall have the strongest perfect 
acting upon the most perfect object ? Now the poor soul 
complains, O that I could love Christ more! But I cannot, 
alas, I cannot : yea, but then thou canst not choose but love 
him ; I had almost said, forbear if thou canst. Now thou 
knowest little of his amiableness, and therefore lovest little : 
then thine eye will affect thy heart, and the continual view- 
ing of that perfect beauty, will keep thee in continual ravish- 
ments of love. Now thy salvation is not perfected, nor all 
the mercies purchased, yet given in ; but when " the top- 
stone is set on, thou shalt with shoutings cry, Grace, grace." 
Christians, doth it now stir up your love, to remember all 
the experiences of his love; to look back upon a life of 
mercies? Doth not kindness melt you? and the sunshine 
of Divine goodness warm your frozen hearts ? What will it 
do then when you shall live in love, and have all in him 
who is all ? O the high delights of love ! of this love ! the 
content that the heart findeth in it ! the satisfaction it brings 
along with it ! Surely love is both work and wages. 

And if this were all, what a high favour, that God will 
give us leave to love him ! That he will vouchsafe to be 
embraced by such arms that have embraced sin before him 
But this is not all, he returneth love for love : nay, a thou- 
sand times more as perfect as we shall be, we cannot reach 
his measure of love. Christian, thou wilt then be brimful 
of love ; yet love as much as thou canst, thou shalt be ten 
thousand times more beloved. Dost thou think thou canst 
over-love him ? What, love more than love itself! Were 
the arms of the Son of God open upon the cross, and an 
open passage made to his heart by the spear ? and will not 
arms and heart be open to thee in glory ? Did he begin to 
love before thou lovedst, and will he not continue now? 
Did he love thee an enemy ? thee a-sinner ? thee who even 
loathedst thyself! and own thee when thou didst disclaim 
thyself? and will he not now unmeasurably love thee a son? 
thee a perfect saint ? thee who returnest love for love ? 
Thou wast wont injuriously to question his love: doubt of 
it now if thou canst. As the pains of hell will convince the 
rebellious sinner of God's wrath, who would never before 
believe it : so the joys of heaven will convince thee tho- 
roughly of that love which thou wouldst so hardly be* per- 
suaded of. He that in love wept over the old Jerusalem 
near her ruin, with what love will he rejoice over the 
new Jerusalem in her glory? Methinks I see him groaning 
and weeping over dead Lazarus, till he forced the Jews 
that stood by to say, " Behold how he loved him !" Will 
he not then much more> by rejoicing over us, make all 



20 the saint's everlasting rest. 

(even the damned, if they see it,) say, " Behold how he 
loveth them !" 

Here is the heaven of heaven ! the fruition of God : in 
these mutual embracements of love doth it consist. To 
love and be beloved : " These are the everla-sting arms that 
are underneath : his left hand is under their heads, and with 
his right hand doth he embrace them." 

Stop here and think a while what a state this is. Is, it a 
small thing to be beloved of God? To be the son, the 
spouse, the love, the delight, of the King of glory? Believe 
this, and think on it : thou shalt be eternally embraced in 
the arms of that love which was from everlasting, and will 
extend to everlasting ; of that love, which brought the Son 
of God's love from heaven to earth, from earth to the cross, 
from the cross to the grave, from the grave to glory ; that 
love which was weary, hungry, tempted, scorned, scourged, 
buffeted, spit upon, crucified, pierced ; which did fast, pray, 
teach, heal, weep, sweat, bleed, die ; that love will eternally 
embrace them. When perfect created love, and most perfect 
uncreated love meet together, O the blessed meeting ! It will 
not be like Joseph and his brethren, who lay upon one 
another's necks weeping : it will break forth into pure joy, 
not a mixture of joy and sorrow : it will be loving and 
rejoicing, not loving and sorrowing : yet will it make 
Pharaoh's (Satan's) court to ring with the news that Joseph's 
brethren are come ; that the saints are arrived safe at th© 
bosom of Christ, out of the reach of hell for ever. 

And now are we not left in the apostle's admiration? 
"What shall we say to these things?" Infinite love must 
needs be a mystery to a finite capacity. No wonder if angels 
desire to pry into the mystery ; and if it be the study of the 
saints here, " to know the height, and breadth, and length, 
and depth, of this love, though it passeth knowledge ;" this 
is the saint's rest in the fruition of God by love. 

Lastly. The affection of joy hath not the least share in 
this fruition. The inconceivable complacency which the 
blessed feel in their seeing, knowing, loving, and being 
beloved of God. The delight of the senses here, cannot be 
known by expressions as they are felt; how much less this 
joy r This is " the white stone, which none knoweth but he 
that receiveth:" and if there be any joy which the stranger 
meddleth not with, then surely this, above all, is it. All 
Christ's ways of mercy tend to, and end in, the saints' joys. 
He wept, sorrowed, suffered, that they might rejoice ; he 
sendeth the Spirit to be their comforter ; he muitiplieth 
promises, he discovers their future happiness, that their joy 
might be full ; he aboundeth to them in mercies of all sorts ; 
" He maketh them lie down in green pastures, and leadeth 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 21 

them by the still waters ;" yea, " openeth to them the 
fountain of living waters, that their joy may be full, that 
they may thirst no more, and that it may spring up in them 
to everlasting life ;" he causeth them to suffer, that he may 
cause them to rejoice ; and chasteneth them, that he may 
give them rest ; and maketh them (as he did himself) " To 
drink of the brook in the way, that, they may lift up the head," 
Psalm ex, 7. And lest after all this they should neglect their 
own comforts, he maketh it their duty, commanding them 
" to rejoice in him alway." And he never brings them into 
so low a condition wherein he leaves them not more cause 
of joy than of sorrow. And hath the Lord such a care for 
us here, where, the Bridegroom being from us, we must 
mourn? O! what will that joy be, where, the soul being 
perfectly prepared for joy, and joy prepared by Christ for 
the soul, it shall be our work, our business, eternally to 
rejoice? 

And it seems the saints' joy shall be greater than the 
damned's torment: for their torment is the torment of crea- 
tures " prepared for the devil and his angels :" but onr joy 
is the joy of oar Lord, even our Lord's own joy shall we 
enter. " And the same glory which the Father giveth him, 
doth the Son give them," John xvii, 22. " And to sit down 
with him in his throne, even as he is set down in his Father's 
throne," Rev. iii, 21. Thou that now spendest thy days in 
sorrow, who knowest no garments but sackcloth, no food 
but the bread and water of afflictions, what sayest thou to 
this great change? from all sorrow to more than all joy? 
Thou poor soul, who prayest for joy, complainest for want 
of joy, then thou shalt have full joy, as much as thou canst 
hold, and more than ever thou thoughtest on, or thy heart 
desired. 

And in the mean time walk carefully, watch constantly, 
and then let God measure out thy times and degrees of joy. 
It may be he keeps them till thou hast more need ; thou 
mayest better lose thy comfort than thy safety. As the joy 
of the hypocrite, so the fears of the upright are but for a 
moment. " Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh 
in the morning." O blessed morning ! Poor drooping soul, 
how would it fill thee with joy now, if a voice from heaven 
should assure thee of thy part in these joys ! What then 
will thy joy be, when thy actual possession shall convince 
thee of thy title : when the angels shall bring thee to Christ, 
and when Christ shall (as it were) take thee by the hand, 
and lead thee into thy purchased possession ! Wilt thou not 
be almost ready to draw back, and to say, What I, Lord, I, 
the unworthy neglecter of thy grace ! I, the unworthy dis- 
esteemer of thy blood, and slighter of thy love ! must I have 



22 the saint's everlasting rest. 

this glory ? " Make me a hired servant, I am no more 
worthy to be called a son :" but love will have it so ; there- 
fore thou must enter into his joy. 

And it is not thy joy only; it is a mutual joy, as well as 
mutual love: is there such joy in heaven at thy conversion, 
and will there be none at thy glorification ? Will not the 
angels welcome thee thither, and congratulate thy safe 
arrival ? Yea, it is the joy of Jesus Christ : for now he hath 
the end of his labour, suffering, dying, when we have our 
joys ; " when he is glorified in his saints, and admired in all 
them that believe. We are his seed, and the fruit of his 
soul's travail, which when he seeth, he will be satisfied:" 
he will rejoice over his purchased inheritance, and his people 
shall rejoice in him. 

Yea, the Father himself puts on joy too, in our joy: as 
we grieve his Spirit, and weary him with our iniquities ; so 
he is rejoiced in our good. O how quickly here doth he spy 
a returning prodigal, even afar off! How doth he run and 
meet him, fall on his neck, and kiss him ! This is indeed a 
happy meeting: but nothing to the joy of that last and great 
meeting. 

And now look back upon all this; I say to thee as the 
angel to John, "What hast thou seen?" Or if yet thou 
perceive not, draw nearer, come up higher. Come and see : 
dost thou fear thou hast been all this while in a dream ? 
Why, These are the true sayings of God. Dost thou fear (as 
the disciples) that thou hast seen but a ghost instead of 
Christ ? a shadow instead of the rest ? Come near and feel : 
a shadow contains not those substantial blessings, nor rests 
upon such a sure word of promise, as you have seen these 
do. Go thy way now, and tell the disciples, and tell the 
drooping souls thou meetest with, that thou hast, in this 
glass, seen heaven : that " the Lord indeed is risen, and hath 
here appeared to thee ; and behold he is gone before us into 
rest ; and that he is now preparing a place for them, and 
will come again, and take them to himself, that " where he 
is, there they may be also." 

But alas ! my fearful heart dare scarce proceed. Methinks 
I hear the Almighty's voice saying to me, as to Elihu, Job 
xxxviii, 2, " Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words 
without knowledge ?" 

But pardon, O Lord, thy servant's sin : I have not pried 
into unrevealed things, nor curiously searched into thy 
counsels ; but indeed I have dishonoured thy holiness, 
wronged thine excellency, disgraced thy saints' glory, by 
my disproportionable portraying : I will bewail from my 
heart that my apprehensions are so dull, my thoughts so 
mean, my affections so stupid, and my expressions so low. 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 23 

But I have only heard by the hearing of the ear ; O let thy 
servant see thee, and possess these joys, and then I shall 
have more suitable conceivings, and shall give thee fuller 
glory. iC I have now uttered that I understood not ; things 
too wonderful for me which I knew not. Yet I believed, and 
therefore spake. Remember with whom thou hast to do : 
what canst thou expect from dust, from corruption, but 
defilement ? Our foul hands will leave, where they touch, 
the marks of their uncleanness ; and most on those things 
that are most pure. " I know thou wilt be sanctified in them 
that come nigh thee, and before all the people thou wilt be 
glorified : and if thy jealousy excluded from that land of rest 
thy servants Moses and Aaron, because they sanctified thee 
not in the midst of Israel, what then may I expect ? But 
though the weakness be the fruit of my own corruption, yet 
the fire is from thine altar, and the work of thy commanding. 
I looked not into thine ark, nor put forth my hand unto it 
without thee. O therefore wash away these stains also in 
the blood of the Lamb. 



CHAPTER IV. ' 

THE FOUR GREAT PREPARATIONS TO OUR REST. 

Having thus showed you a small glimpse of that resem- 
blance of the saint's rest which I had seen in the gospel 
glass ; it follows, that we proceed to view a little the blessed 
properties of this rest. And why doth my trembling heart 
draw back ? Surely the Lord is not now so inaccessible, 
nor the ways so blocked up, as when the law and curse 
reigned. Wherefore, finding the flaming sword removed, I 
shall look again into the paradise of our God. 

And first, let us consider the great preparations ; for the 
porch of this temple is exceeding glorious. Let us observe, 

1. The most glorious coming of the Son of God. 

2. His raising our bodies, and uniting them again with 
the soul. 

3. His solemn proceedings in their judgment, where they 
shall be justified before all the world. 

4. His enthroning them in glory. 

1. And well may the coming of Christ be reckoned with 
those ingredients that compound this precious rest ; for to 
this end it is intended, and to this end it is of apparent 
necessity. For his people's sake he sanctified himself to his 
office : for their sake he came into the world, suffered, died, 
rose, ascended ; and for their sake it is that he will return. 
To this end will Christ come again to receive his people 
to himself, " that where he is, they may be also," John 



24 the saint's everlasting rest. 

xiv, 3. He that would come to suffer, will surely come to 
triumph ; and he that would come to purchase, will surely 
come to possess. 

But why stayed he not with his people while he was 
here ? Why ; must not the Comforter be sent ? Was not 
the work on earth done ? Must he not receive the recom 
pense of reward, and enter into his glory? Must he not 
take possession in our behalf? Must he not go to prepare a 
place for us ? Must he not intercede with the Father, and 
plead his sufferings, and be filled with the Spirit to send it 
forth, and receive authority to subdue his enemies? Our 
abode here is short : if he had stayed on earth, what would 
it have been to enjoy him for a few days, and then die? But 
he hath more in heaven to dwell among : even the spirits of 
the just of many generations, there made perfect. O what 
a day will that be ! when we, who have been kept prisoners 
by the grave, shall be fetched out by the Lord himself; 
when Christ shall come from heaven to plead with his ene- 
mies, and set his captives free ? It will not be such a coming 
as his first was, in meanness, and poverty, and contempt. 
He will not come to be spit upon, and buffeted, and scorned, 
and crucified again. He will not come, careless world, 
to be slighted by you any more. And yet that coming, 
which was in infirmity and reproach for our sakes, wanted 
not its glory. If the angels of heaven must be the messen- 
gers of that coming, as being tidings of joy to all people ; and 
the heavenly host must accompany his nativity, and must 
praise God with that solemnity ; O with what shoutings 
will angels and saints at that day proclaim, " Glory to God, 
and peace and good will toward men !" If the stars of 
heaven must lead men to come to worship a child in a 
manger, how will the glory of his next appearing constrain 
all the world to acknowledge his sovereignty ! If, when he 
was in the form of a servant, they cry out, " What manner 
of man is this, that both wind and sea obey him !" what 
shall they say when they shall see him coming in his glory, 
and the heavens and earth obey him ? " Then shall appear 
the sign of the Son of man in heaven, and then shall all the 
tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man 
coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory." 

This coming of Christ is frequently mentioned in the 
prophets, as the great support of his people's spirits till 
then. And whenever the apostles would quicken to duty, 
or encourage to patient waiting, they usually do it by men- 
tioning Christ's coming. Why then do we not use more 
this cordial consideration, whenever we want support and 
comfort ? Shall the wicked with inconceivable horror 
behold him, and cry out, " Yonder is he whose blood we 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 25 

neglected, whose grace we resisted, whose counsels we 
refused, whose government we cast off!' 3 And shall not 
the saints, with inconceivable gladness, cry out, "Yonder is 
he whose blood redeemed us, whose Spirit cleansed us! 
Yonder comes he in whom we trusted, and now ye see he 
hath not deceived our trust : he for whom we long waited, 
and now we see we have not waited in vain ! O how should 
it then be the character of a Christian " to wait for the Son 
of God from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even 
Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come,' 3 1 Thess. 
i, 10 ; and with all faithful diligence to prepare to meet our 
Lord with joy. And seeing his coming is of purpose " to 
be glorified in his saints, and admired in all them that 
believe," what thought should glad our hearts more than 
the thought of that day ? A little while indeed we have 
not " seen him, but yet a little while and we shall see him," 
for he hath said, " I will not leave you comfortless, but will 
come unto you." We were comfortless should he not come. 
And while we daily gaze and look up to heaven after him, 
let us remember what the angel said, " This same Jesus 
which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in 
like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven," Let 
every Christian that heareth and readeth say, Come; and 
our Lord himself saith, " Surely I come quickly ; amen : even 
so, come, Lord Jesus." 

The second stream that leadeth to paradise, is that great 
work of Jesus Christ, in raising our bodies from the dust, 
uniting them again unto the soul. What, saith the atheist, 
shall all these scattered bones and dust become a man? 
Thou fool, dost thou dispute against the power of the 
Almighty! Dost thou object difficulties to infinite strength? 
Thou blind mole ! Thou little piece of creeping, breathing, 
clay ! But come thy way, let me take thee by the hand, and 
with reverence (as Elihu) plead for God ; and for that power 
whereby I hope to arise. Seest thou this great massy body 
of the earth ? Upon what foundation doth it stand? Seest 
thou this vast ocean of waters ? What limits them, and why 
do they not overflow and drown the earth ? Whence is that 
constant ebbing and flowing of her tides ? Wilt thou say 
from the moon, or other planets? and whence have they 
that influence ? Must thou not come to a cause of causes, 
that can do all things ? And doth not reason require thee to 
conceive of that cause as a perfect intelligence, and volun- 
tary agent, and not such a blind worker and empty notion 
as that nothing is which thou callest nature ? What thinkest 
thou ? Is not that power able to effect thy resurrection, 
which doth all this ? Is it not as easy to raise the dead, as 
to make heaven, and earth, and all, out of nothing? But if 

3 



2f5 the saint's everlasting rest. 

thou be unpersuadable, all I say to thee more is as the 
prophet to the prince of Samaria, 2 Kings vii, 19, "Thou 
shalt see that day with thine eyes, but little to thy comfort; 
for that which is the day of relief to the saints, shall be a 
day of revenge on thee." 

Come then, fellow Christians, let us commit these car- 
casses to the dust: that prison shall not long contain them. 
Let us lie down in peace, and take our rest : it will not be 
an everlasting night, or endless sleep. What if we go out 
of the troubles and stirs of the world, and enter into those 
chambers of dust, and the doors be shut upon us, and wa 
hide ourselves, as it were^ for a little moment " until the 
indignation be overpast ?" Yet, " behold the Lord cometh 
out of his place, to punish the inhabitants of the earth for 
their iniquity : and then the earth shall disclose us, and the 
dust shall hide us no more. As sure as we awake in the 
morning, when we have slept out the night, so sure shall 
we then awake. 

Lay down then cheerfully this lump of corruption : thou 
shalt undoubtedly receive it again in incorruption. Lay 
down freely this terrestrial, this natural body : thou shalt 
receive it again a celestial, a spiritual body. Though thou 
lay it down with great dishonour, thou shalt receive it in 
glory : and though thou art separated from it through 
weakness, it shall be raised again in mighty power. When 
the trumpet of God shall sound the call, " Come away, rise, 
ye dead," who shall then stay behind ? Who can resist the 
powerful command of our Lord? When he shall call to the 
earth and sea, " O earth, O sea, give up thy dead/' the first 
that shall be called are the saints that sleep ; and then the 
saints that are alive shall be changed. For " they which are 
alive, and remain till the coming of the Lord, shall not pre- 
vent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall 
descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the 
archangel, and with the trump of God ; and the dead in 
Christ shall rise first. Then they which are alive and 
remain, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, 
to meet the Lord in the air ; and so shall we ever be with 
the Lord." Triumph, now, O Christian ! in these promises ; 
thou shalt shortly triumph iu their performance : for this is 
the day that the Lord will make; "We shall be glad and 
rejoice therein." The grave that could not keep our Lord, 
cannot keep us. He arose for us, and by the same power 
will cause us to arise. " For if we believe that Jesus died 
and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will 
God bring with him." Therefore let our hearts be glad, and 
our glory rejoice, and our flesh also rest in hope ; for he 
will not leave us in the grave, nor suffer us still to see cor- 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 27 

ruption. Yea, " therefore let us be steadfast, immovable, 
always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as 
we know our labour is not in vain in the Lord." 

The third part of this prologue to the saint's rest, is the 
solemn process at their judgment, where they shall first 
themselves be justified; and then with Christ judge the 
world. All the world must there appear, young and old, of 
all estates and nations, that ever were from the creation to 
that day, The judgment shall be set, and the books opened, 
and the book of life produced : " and the dead shall be judged 
out of those things which were written in the books, accord- 
ing to their works; and whosoever is not found written in 
the book of life, is cast into the lake of fire." O terrible ! O 
joyful day ! Terrible to those that have not w T atched, but 
forgot the coming of their Lord ! joyful to the saints, whose 
waiting and hope w T as to see this day ! Then shall the world 
behold the goodness and severity of the Lord ; on them who 
perish, severity ; but to his chosen, goodness. When every 
one must give account of his stewardship : and every 
talent of time, health, wit, mercies, affliction, means, warn- 
ings, must be reckoned for. When the sins of youth, and 
those which they had forgotten, and their secret sins, shall 
be laid open before angels and men. When they shall see 
all their friends, wealth, old delights, all their confidence 
and false hopes, forsake them. When they shall see the 
Lord Jesus whom they neglected, whose word they disobey- 
ed, whose ministers they abused, whose servants they hated, 
now sitting to judge them. When their own consciences 
shall cry out against them, and call to their remembrance 
all their misdoings. Remember, at such a time, such or 
such a sin ; at such a time, Christ sued hard for thy conver- 
sion ; the minister pressed it home to thy heart, thou wast 
touched to the quick with the word ; thou didst purpose 
and promise returning, and yet thou didst cast off all. O 
which way will the wretched sinner look! O who can con- 
ceive the thoughts of his heart ! Now the world cannot 
help him;, his old companions cannot help him; the saints 
neither can nor will ; only the Lord Jesus can : but there is 
the misery, he will not ; nay, without violating the truth of 
his word, he cannot : though otherwise, in regard of his 
absolute power, he might. The time was, sinner, when 
Christ would, and you would not ; and now fain would you, 
and he will not. What then remains but to cry to the 
mountains, " Fall on us ; and the hills, cover us from the 
presence of him that sits upon the throne !" But all in 
vain ! for thou hast the Lord of mountains and hills for 
thine enemy, whose voice they will obey, and not thine. 
Sinner, make not light of this ; for as thou livest, (except a 



28 the saint's everlasting rest. 

thorough change prevent it,) thou shalt shortly, to thy 
inconceivable horror, see that day. 

Poor careless sinner, I did not think here to have said so 
much to thee: but if these lines fall into thy hands, "I 
charge thee, before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who 
shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing, and his 
kingdom," that thou make haste and get alone, and set 
thyself sadly to ponder these things. Ask thy heart, is this 
true, or is it not? Is there such a day, and must I see it? 
What do I then ! Is it not time, full time, that I had made sure 
of Christ and comfort long ago ? Should I sit still another 
day, who have lost so many ? Friend, I profess to thee from 
the word of the Lord, that of all thy sweet sins, there will 
then be nothing left but the sting in thy conscience, which 
will be never out through all eternity. 

But why tremblest thou, O gracious soul ! He that would 
not overlook one Lot in Sodom ; nay, that could do nothing 
till he went forth ; will he forget thee at that day ? " Thy 
Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptation, 
and to reserve the unjust to the day of judgment to be 
punished." He knoweth how to make the same day the 
greatest terror to his foes, and yet the greatest joy to his 
people. "There is no condemnation to them that are in 
Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the 
Spirit." And, " who shall lay any thing to the charge of 
God's elect !" Shall the law? Why, " whatsoever the law 
saith, it saith to them that are under the law ; but we are 
not under the law, but under grace ; for the law of the spirit 
of life, which is in Christ Jesus, hath made us free from the 
law of sin and death." Or shall conscience ? We were long 
ago justified by faith, and so have peace with God, and have 
our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience : and the Spirit 
bearing witness with our spirits, that we are the children of 
God. u It is God that justifieth, who shall condemn?" If our 
Judge condemn us not, who shall? He that said to the 
adulterous woman, " Hath no man condemned thee ? Neither 
do I condemn thee ;" he will say to us, (more faithfully than 
Peter to him,) "Though all men deny thee, or condemn 
thee, I will not. Thou hast confessed me before men, and I 
will confess thee before my Father and the angels in heaven." 

What inexpressible joy may this afford a believer ? Our 
dear Lord shall be our Judge. Will a man fear to be judged 
by his dearest friend, by a brother, by a father, or a wife by 
her own husband ? Did he come down, and suffer, and weep, 
and bleed, and die for thee ; and will he now condemn thee ? 
Was he judged and condemned, and executed in thy stead, 
and now will he condemn thee ? Hath it cost him so dear to 
save thee ! and will he now destroy thee ? Hath he done tha 



THE SAINT S EVERLASTING REST. 29 

most of the work already, in justifying, preserving, and per- 
fecting thee? and will he now undo all again? O what an 
unreasonable sin is unbelief, that will charge our Lord with 
such absurdities ! Well then, fellow Christians, let the terror 
of that day be never so great, our Lord can mean no ill to 
us in all. Let it make the devils tremble ; and the wicked 
tremble ; but it shall make us leap for joy. And it must 
needs affect us deeply with the sense of our mercy and hap- 
piness, to behold the contrary condition of others. To see 
most of the world tremble with terror, while we triumph 
with joy: to see them thrust into hell, when we are pro- 
claimed heirs of the kingdom ; to see our neighbours that 
iived in the same towns, came to the same congregations, 
dwelt in the same houses, and were esteemed more honour- 
able in the world than ourselves ; now so differenced from 
us, and by the Searcher of hearts eternally separated. This, 
with the great magnificence and dreadfulness of the day, 
doth the apostle pathetically express, in 2 Thess. i, 6-10, "It 
is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to 
them that trouble you ; and to you who are troubled, rest 
with us ; when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven 
with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on 
them that know not God and obey not the gospel of our 
Lord Jesus Christ ; who shall be punished with everlasting 
destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory 
of his power." And now is not here enough to make that 
day a welcome day, and the thoughts of it delightful to us ? 
But yet there is more. We shall be so far from the dread 
of that judgment, that ourselves shall become the judges. 
Christ will take his people, as it were into commission with 
him ; and they shall sit and approve his righteous judgment. 
" Do you not know that the saints shall judge the world ? 5 ' 
Nay, "Know you not that we shall judge angels ?" Surely, 
were it not the word of Christ that speaks it, this advance- 
ment would seem incredible ; yet even Enoch, the seventh 
from Adam, prophesied of this ; saying, " Behold the Lord 
cometh with ten thousand of his saints, to execute judgment 
upon all, and convince all that are ungodly among them, of 
their ungodly deeds, which they have ungodly committed; 
and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have 
spoken against him,' Jude 14, &c. Thus shall the saints be 
honoured, and the " righteous have dominion in the morn- 
ing. 55 O that the careless world were " but wise to consider 
this, 53 and " that they would remember their latter end !" 
That they would be now of the same mind, as they will be 
when they shall see the " heavens pass away with a great 
noise, and the elements melt with fervent heat; the earth 
also and the works that are therein be burnt up ! 55 When 

3* 



30 the saint's everlasting rest. 

all shall be on fire about their ears, and all earthly glory 
consumed. For " the heavens and the earth which are now 
by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire 
against the day of judgment, and perdition of ungodly men. 
Seeing then all these things shall be dissolved, what manner 
of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and god- 
liness ; looking for, and hasting to the coming of the day of 
God ; wherein the heavens being on fire, shall be dissolved, 
and the elements melt with fervent heat." 

The fourth antecedent to the saints' advancement is, their 
solemn coronation, and receiving into the kingdom. For as 
Christ, their head, is anointed both king and priest ; so under 
him are his people made unto God both kings and priests: 
" To reign and to offer praises for ever," Rev. v, 10 : c The 
crown of righteousness which was laid up for them, shall 
by the Lord, the righteous judge, be given them, at that 
day," 2 Tim. iv, 8: " They have been faithful to the death, 
and therefore shall receive the crown of life :" and accord- 
ing to the improvement of their talents here, so shall their 
rule and dignity be enlarged. So that they are not dignified 
with empty titles, but real dominions. For " Christ will take 
them and set them down with himself, in his own throne ; 
and will give them power over the nations, even as he re- 
ceived of his Father : and will give them the morning star." 
The Lord himself will give them possession with these 
applauding expressions: "Well done, good and faithful 
servant, thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make 
thee ruler over many things ; enter thou into the joy of thy 
Lord." And with this solemn and blessed proclamation 
shall he enthrone them ; " Come, ye blessed of my Father, 
inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation 
of the world." Every word is full of life avid joy. ["Come."] 
This is the holding forth of the golden sceptre ; to warrant 
our approach unto this glory. Come now as near as you 
will: fear not the Bethshemites 5 judgment: for the enmity 
is utterly taken away. This is not such a " Come" as we 
were wont to hear, " Come, take up your cross and follow 
me:" though that was sweet, yet this is much more so. 
[" Ye blessed."] Blessed indeed, when that mouth shall so 
pronounce us. For though the world hath accounted us 
accursed, yet certainly those that he blesseth are blessed: 
and those whom he curseth only, are cursed : and his bless- 
ing shall not be revoked. But he hath blessed us, and we 
shall be blessed. [" Of my Father."] Blessed in the Father's 
love as well as the Son's ; for they are one : the Father hath 
testified his love, in sending Christ and accepting his ran- 
som ; as the Son hath also testified his. [" Inherit."] No 
longer bondmen, nor servants only, nor children under age- 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 31 

who differ not in possession, but only in the title from serv- 
ants ; but now, we are Cf heirs of the kingdom, co-heirs with 
Christ." ["The kingdom."] No less than the kingdom! 
Indeed to be King of kings, and Lord of lords, is our Lord's 
own title : but to be kings and reign with him, is ours : the 
fruition of this kingdom, is as the fruition of the light of the 
sun, each hath the whole, and the rest never the less. [" Pre- 
pared for you."] God is the Alpha, as well as the Omega of 
our blessedness. Eternal love hath laid the foundation. He 
prepared the kingdom for us, and then prepared us for the 
kingdom. This is the preparation of his counsel ; for the 
execution whereof Christ was yet to make a further prepa- 
ration. [" For you."] Not for believers only in general, but 
for you in particular. [" From the foundation of the world."] 
Not only from the promise after Adam's fall, but from 
eternity. 

But a difficulty ariseth in our way. In what sense is our 
improvement of our talent, our well doing, our overcoming, 
our harbouring, visiting, feeding Christ in his little ones, 
alleged as a reason of our coronation and glory ? Is it not 
the purchased possession, and mere fruit of Christ's blood ? 
If every man must be judged according to his works, and 
receive according to what they have done in the flesh, whe- 
ther good or evil ; if God " will render to every man accord- 
ing to his deeds," Rom. ii, 6, 7, and give eternal life to all 
men, if they patiently continue in well doing ; if he will give 
right to the tree of life, Rev. xxii, 14, and entrance into the 
city, to the doers of his commandments ; and if this last 
absolving sentence be the completing of our justification ; and 
so " the doers of the law be justified," Rom. ii, 13, then what 
is become of free grace ? or justification by faith only ? of the 
sole righteousness of Christ to make us accepted ? I answer, 

1. Let not the names of men draw thee one way or other, 
nor make thee partial in searching for the truth : dislike the 
men for their unsound doctrine ; but call not doctrine un- 
sound, because it is theirs : nor sound because of the repute 
of the writer. 

2. Know this, that as an unhumbled soul is far apter to 
give too much to duty and personal righteousness, than to 
Christ ; so an humble self-denying Christian is as likely to 
err on the other hand, in giving less to duty than Christ hath 
given, and laying all the work from himself on Christ, for 
fear of robbing Christ of the honour ; and so much to look 
at Christ without him, and think he should look at nothing 
in himself; that he forgets Christ within him. 

3. Our giving to Christ more of the work than Scripture 
doth, or rather our ascribing it to him out of the Scripture 
way, doth but dishonour, and not honour him ; and depress, 



32 the saint's everlasting rest. 

but not exalt his free grace; while we deny the inward 
sanctifying work of his Spirit, and extol his free justifica- 
tion, which are equal fruits of his merit, we make him an 
imperfect Saviour. 

4. But to arrogate to ourselves any part of Christ's pre- 
rogative, is most desperate of all, and no doctrine more 
directly overthrows the gospel almost, than that of justifi- 
cation by the merits of our own, or by works of the law. 

And thus we have seen the Christian safely landed in 
paradise ; and conveyed honourably to his rest. Now let us 
a little further view those mansions, consider his privileges, 
and see whether there be any glory like unto this glory. 



CHAPTER V. 

THE EXCELLENCIES OF OUR REST. 

Let us see more immediately from the pure fountain of 
the Scriptures, what further excellencies this rest affordeth. 
And the Lord hide us in the clefts of the rock, and cover us 
with the hands of indulgent grace, while we approach to 
take this view. 

And first, it is a most singular honour of the saint's rest, 
to be called the purchased possession ; that it is the fruit of 
the blood of the Son of God : yea, the chief fruit : yea, the 
end and perfection of all the fruits of that blood. Surely 
love is the most precious ingredient in the whole composi- 
tion ; and of all the flowers that grow in the garden of love, 
can there be brought one more sweet than this blood ? 
Greater love than this there is not, to lay down the life of 
the lover. And to have this our Redeemer ever before our 
eyes, and the liveliest sense and freshest remembrance of 
that dying bleeding love still upon our souls ; O how will it 
fill our souls with perpetual ravishments, to think that in 
the streams of this blood, we have swam through the vio- 
lence of the world, the snares of Satan, the seducements of 
the flesh, the curse of the law, the wrath of an offended 
God, the accusations of a guilty conscience, and the doubts 
and fears of an unbelieving heart, and are passed through 
all and arrived safely at the breast of God ! Now we are 
stupified with vile and senseless hearts, that can hear all the 
story of this love, and read all the sufferings of love ; and all 
with dulness, and unaffectedness. He cries to us, "Behold 
and see, is it nothing to you, O all ye that pass by ? Is 
there any sorrow like unto my sorrow?" And we will 
scarce hear or regard the voice ; or turn aside to view the 
wounds of him who healed our wounds at so dear a rate. 
But oh ! then our perfected souls will feel as well as hear, 



THE SAINT S EVERLASTING REST. 66 

and with feeling apprehensions flame in love for love. Now 
we set his picture wounded and dying before our eyes, but 
can get it no nearer our hearts, than if we believed nothing 
of what we read. But then when the obstructions between 
the eye and the understanding are taken away, and the 
passage opened between the head and heart, surely our eyes 
will everlastingly affect our heart ! And while we view with 
one eye our slain revived Lord, and with the other eye our 
lost recovered souls, these views will eternally pierce us, 
and warm our very souls. And those eyes through which 
folly hath so often stolen into our hearts, let in the love of 
our dearest Lord for ever. 

We shall then leave these hearts of stone and rock behind 
us, and the sin that here so close besets us, and the sottish 
unkindness that followed us so long, shall not be able to 
follow us into glory. But we shall behold, as it were, the 
wounds of love, with eyes and hearts of love for ever. Now 
his heart is open to us, and ours shut to him : but when his 
heart shall be open, and our hearts open, oh the blessed 
congress that will then be ! What a passionate meeting is 
there between our new risen Lord, and the first sinful 
woman that he appears to ! How doth love struggle for 
expressions ? and the straitened fire shut up in the breast, 
strive to break forth ? Mary ! saith Christ : Master ! saith 
Mary : and presently she clasps about his feet, having her 
heart as near to his heart as her hands were to his feet. 
What a meeting of love then will there be, between the 
newly glorified saint, and the glorious Redeemer ! But I am 
here at a loss, my apprehensions fail me, and fall too short. 
Only this I know, it will be the singular praise of our inhe- 
ritance, that it was bought with the price of that blood ; and 
the singular joy of the saints, to behold the purchaser and 
the price, together with the possession : neither will the 
views of the wounds of love renew our wounds or sorrow: 
He whose first words after his resurrection were to a great 
sinner, " Woman, why weepest thou ?" knows how to raise 
love and joy by all those views, without raising any cloud 
of sorrow. If a dying friend deliver but a token of his love, 
how carefully do we preserve it? and still remember him 
when we behold it, as if his own name were written on it ? 
And will not then the death and blood of our Lord ever- 
lastingly sweeten our possessed glory? Well then, Chris- 
tians, as you use to do in your books, and on your goods, to 
write down the price they cost you : so on your righteous- 
ness, and on your glory, write down the price, the precious 
blood of Christ. 

Yet understand this rightly : not that this highest glory 
was in the strictest sense purchased, so as that it was the most 



34 the saint's everlasting rest. 

immediate effect of Christ's death ; we must take heed that 
we conceive not of God as a tyrant, who so delighteth in 
cruelty as to exchange mercies for stripes. God was never so 
pleased with the sufferings of the innocent, much less of his 
Son, as to sell his mercy properly for their sufferings. But 
the sufferings of Christ were primarily and immediately to 
satisfy justice, and to bear what was due to the sinner, and 
so to restore him to the life he lost, and the happiness he 
fell from : but this dignity, which surpasseth the first, as 
it were, from the redundancy of his merit, or a secondary 
fruit of his death. The work of his redemption so well 
pleased the Father, that he gave him power to advance his 
chosen to a higher dignity than they fell from ; and to give 
them the glory which was given to himself; and all this 
according to the good pleasure of his own will. 

2. The second pearl in the saint's diadem, is, that it is free. 
This seemeth, as Pharaoh's second kine, " to devour the 
former.'; But the seeming discord is but a pleasing diversity 
which constitutes the melody. These two attributes, pur- 
chased and free, are the two chains of gold which make up 
the wreath for the head of the pillars in the temple of God. 
It was dear to Christ, but free to us. When Christ was to 
buy, silver and gold were nothing worth ; prayers and tears 
could not suffice; nor any thing below his blood ; but when 
we come to buy, our buying is but receiving: we have it 
freely, " without money and without price." Nor do the 
gospel conditions make it the less free. If the gospel con- 
ditions had been such as are the laws, or payment of the 
debt required at our hands, the freeness then were more 
questionable. Yea, if God had said to us, "Sinners, if you 
will satisfy my justice for one of your sins, I will forgive you all 
the rest," it would have been a hard condition on our part, 
and the grace of the covenant not so free, as our disability 
doth require. But if all the condition be our cordial accepta- 
tion, surely we deserve not the name of purchasers. Thank- 
fully accepting of a free acquittance, is no paying of the 
debt. If life be offered to a condemned man, upon condition 
that he shall not refuse the offer, the favour is nevertheless 
free. Nay, though the condition were, that he should beg, 
and wait before he have his pardon, and take him for his 
Lord who hath thus redeemed him, this is no satisfying the 
justice of the law : especially when the condition is also 
given by God. Surely then here all is free : if the Father 
freely give the Son, and the Son freely pay the debt ; and 
if God freely accept that way of payment, when he might have 
required it of the principal ; and if both Father and Son freely 
offer us the purchased life upon those fair conditions ; and if 
they also freely send the Spirit to enable us to perform those 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 35 

conditions, then what is here that is not free ? O the ever- 
lasting admiration that must needs surprise the saints to 
think of this freeness ! What did the Lord see in me, that 
he should judge me meet for such a state? that I, who was 
but a poor despised wretch, should be clad in the brightness 
of this glory? that I, a silly creeping worm, should be 
advanced to this high dignity ? He that durst not lift up his 
eyes to heaven, but stood afar off smiting his breast, and cry- 
ing, " Lord, be merciful to me a sinner !" now to be lifted up 
to heaven himself! He who was wont to write his name in 
Bradford's style, the unthankful, the hard hearted, the unworthy 
sinner ! and was wont to admire that patience could bear so 
long, and justice suffer him to live: sure he will admire at 
this alteration, when he shall find, by experience, that 
unworthiness could not hinder his salvation, which he 
thought would have bereaved him of every mercy. Ah ! 
Christian, there is no talk of our worthiness or unworthi- 
ness. If worthiness were our condition for admittance, we 
might sit down with St. John and weep, " because none in 
heaven or on earth is found worthy. But the Lion of the 
tribe of Judah is worthy, and hath prevailed ; and by that 
title must we hold the inheritance." We shall offer there 
the offering that David refused, " even praise for that which 
cost us nothing. 35 Here our commission runs, " Freely ye 
have received, freely give." But Christ hath dearly received, 
yet freely gives. Yet this is not all. If it were only for 
nothing, and without our merit, the wonder were great : 
but it is moreover against our merit, and against our long 
endeavouring our own ruin. The broken heart that hath 
known the desert of sin, doth both understand and feel what 
I say. What an astonishing thought it will be, to think of 
the immeasurable difference between our deservings and our 
receivings ! between the state we should have been in, and 
the state we are in ! to look down upon hell, and see the 
vast difference that free grace hath made betwixt us and 
them ! to see the inheritance there, which we were born 
to, so different from that which we are adopted to! Oh! 
what pangs of love will it cause within us, to think, yonder 
was the place that sin would have brought me to ; but this 
is it that Christ hath brought me to ! Yonder death was 
the wages of my sin; but this "eternal life is the gift of 
God, through Jesus Christ my Lord." Doubtless this will 
be our everlasting admiration, that so rich a crown should 
fit the head of so vile a sinner ! That such high advance- 
ment, and such long unfruitfulness and unkindness can be 
the state of the same persons ! and that such vile rebellions 
can conclude in such most precious joys ! But no thanks to 
us: nor to any of our duties and labours, much less to our 



36 the saint's everlasting rest. 

neglects and laziness ; we know to whom the praise is due, 
and must be given for ever. And indeed to this very end it 
was, that Infinite Wisdom did cast the whole design of man's 
salvation into the mould of purchase and freeness, that the 
love and joy of man might be perfected, and the honour of 
grace most highly advanced : that the thought of merit 
might neither cloud the one, nor obstruct the other; and 
that on these two hinges the gates of heaven might turn. 
So then let [deserved] be written on the door of hell, but 
on the door of heaven and life, [the free gift.] 

A third comfortable adjunct of this rest is, that it is the 
fellowship of the blessed saints and angels of God. Not so 
singular will the Christian be, as to be solitary. Though it 
be proper to the saints only, yet is it common to all the 
saints. For what is it, but an association of blessed spirits 
in God ? A corporation of perfected saints, whereof Christ 
is the head ? The communion of saints completed ? For 
those that have prayed, and fasted, and wept, and watched, 
and waited together; now to enjoy, and praise together, 
methinks should much advance their pleasure. He who 
mentioneth the qualifications of our happiness, of purpose 
that our joy may be full, and maketh so oft mention of our 
conjunction in his praises, sure doth hereby intimate to us, 
that this will be some advantage to our joys. Certain I am 
of this, fellow Christians, that as we have been together in 
labour, duty, danger, and distress, so shall we be in the great 
recompense : and as we have been scorned and despised, so 
shall we be crowned and honoured together ; and we who 
have gone through the day of sadness, shall enjoy together 
that day of gladness. And those who have been with us in 
persecution and prison, shall be with us also in that place 
of consolation. When I look in the faces of the people of 
God, and believingly think of this day, what a refreshing 
thought is it ! Shall we not there remember our fellowship 
in duty and in sufferings? How oft our groans made as it 
were one sound, our tears but one stream, and our desires 
but one prayer ? And now all our praises shall make up one 
melody ; and all our churches one church ; and all ourselves 
but one body; for we shall be one in Christ, even as he and 
the Father are one. It is true, we must be very careful that 
we look not for that in the saints, which is alone in Christ, 
and that we give them not his prerogative ; nor expect too 
great a part of our comfort in the fruition of them : we are 
prone enough to this kind of idolatry. But yet he whc 
commands us so to love them now, will give us leave, in the 
same subordination to himself, to love them then, when 
himself hath made them much more lovely. And if we 
may love them, we shall surely rejoice in them ; for love 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 37 

cannot stand without an answerable joy. If the forethought 
of sitting down with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the 
prophets in the kingdom of God, may be our lawful joy ; 
then how much more that real sight and actual possession! 
It cannot but be comfortable to me to think of that day, 
when I shall join with Moses in his song, with David in his 
psalms of praise, and with all the redeemed in the " song of 
the Lamb for ever." When we shall see Enoch walking 
with God ; Noah enjoying the end of his singularity; Joseph, 
of his integrity; Job, of his patience; Hezekiah, of his 
uprightness ; and all the saints the end of their faith. O 
happy day, when I shall depart out of this crowd, and sink 
and go to that same council of souls ! I know that Christ is 
all in all, and that it is the presence of God that maketh 
heaven to be heaven. But yet it much sweeteneth the 
thoughts of that place to me, to remember that there are 
such a multitude of my most dear and precious friends in 
Christ : " with whom I took sweet counsel, and with whom 
I went up to the house of God, who walked with me in the 
fear of God, and integrity of their hearts:" in the face of 
whose conversation there was written the name of Christ : 
whose sensible mention of his excellencies hath made my 
heart to burn within me. To think such a friend that died 
at such a time, and such a one at another time, and that all 
these are entered into rest : and we shall surely go to them. It 
is a question with some, whether we shall know each other 
in heaven or no ? Surely, there shall no knowledge cease 
which now we have ; but only that which implieth our 
imperfection. And what imperfection can this imply ? Nay, 
our present knowledge shall be increased beyond belief: it 
shall indeed be done away, but as the light of the stars is 
done away by the rising of the sun ; which is more properly 
doing away our ignorance than our knowledge. Indeed we 
shall not know each other after the flesh ; but by the image 
of Christ, and spiritual relation, and former faithfulness in 
improving our talents, beyond doubt, we shall know and be 
known. Nor is it only our old acquaintance, but all the 
saints of all ages, whose faces in the flesh we never saw, 
whom we shall there both know and comfortably enjoy. 
Yea, and angels as well as saints will be our blessed 
acquaintance. Those who now are willingly ministerial 
spirits for our good, will willingly then be our companions 
in joy for the perfecting of our good : and they who had 
such joy in heaven for our conversion, will gladly rejoice 
with us in our glorification. I think, Christian, this will be 
a more honourable assembly than ever you have beheld ; 
and a more happy society than you were ever of before. 
Then we shall truly say as David, " I am a companion of all 

4 



38 the saint's everlasting rest. 

them that fear thee : when we are come to mount Sion, and 
to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and 
to an innumerable company of angels ; to the general assem- 
bly, and church of the first-born, which are written in 
heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of 
just men made perfect, and to Jesus the mediator of the 
new covenant." So then I conclude, this is one singular 
excellency of the rest of heaven : " That we are fellow 
citizens with the saints, and of the household of God.' 

4. Another excellent property of our rest will be, that the 
joys of it are immediately from God : " We shall see God 
face to face, and stand continually in his presence ; and 
consequently derive our life and comfort immediately from 
him. Whether God will make use of any creatures for our 
service then; or if any, of what creatures, and what use, is 
more than I yet know : but it is certain, that at least our 
greatest joys will be immediate, if not all. Now we have 
nothing at all immediately, but at the second or third hand, 
or how many who knows ? From the earth, from man, 
from the sun and moon, from the influence of the planets, 
from the ministration of angels, and from the spirit of 
Christ ; and doubtless, the further the stream runs from the 
fountain, the more impure it is. It gathers some defilement 
from every unclean channel it passeth through. Though it 
savours not in the hand of angels, of the imperfection of 
sinners, yet it doth of the imperfection of creatures ; and as 
it comes from man, it savours of both. How quick and 
piercing is the word in itself! Yet. many times it never 
enters, being managed by a feeble arm. O what weight and 
worth is there in every passage of the blessed gospel! enough, 
one would think, to enter and force the dullest soul, and 
wholly possess its thoughts and affections: and yet how oft 
doth it drop as water upon a stone ? The things of God 
which we handle are divine : but our manner of handling is 
human : and there is little or none that ever we touch, but 
we leave the print of our fingers behind us ; but if God 
should speak this word himself, it would be a piercing melt- 
ing word indeed. 

If an angel from heaven should preach the gospel, yet 
could he not deliver it according to its glory ; much less we 
who never saw what they have seen, and keep this treasure 
in earthen vessels. The comforts that flow through sermons, 
sacraments, reading, conference, and creatures, are but half 
comforts, in comparison of those which the Almighty shall 
speak with his own mouth, and reach forth with his own 
hand. The Christian knows by experience now, that his 
most immediate joys are his sweetest joys ; which have 
least of man, and are most directly from the Spirit. That is 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 39 

one reason, I conceive, why Christians, who are much in 
secret prayer and meditation, are men of greatest life ; 
because they are nearer the well head, and have all more 
immediately from God himself. And that I conceive the 
only reason why we are more indisposed to those secret 
duties, and can easier bring our hearts to hear and read, 
than to secret prayer, self examination, and meditation; 
because in the former is more of man, and in these we 
approach the Lord alone, and our natures draw back from 
the most spiritual duties. Not that we should therefore cast 
off the other, and neglect any ordinance of God : to live 
above them while we use them, is the way of a Christian. 
But to live above ordinances, so as to live without them, is 
to live without the government of Christ. It is then we shall 
have light without a candle; and a perpetual day without 
the sun : " For the city hath no need of the sun, neither the 
moon to shine in it : for the glory of God doth lighten it, and 
the Lamb is the light thereof," Rev. xxi, 23. Nay, " There 
shall be no night there, and they need no candle, nor light 
of the sun, for the Lord God giveth them light, and they 
shall reign for ever and ever." We shall then have rest 
without sleep, and be kept from cold without our clothing, 
and need no fig leaves to hide our shame : for God will be 
our rest, and Christ our clothing, and shame and sin will 
cease together. We shall then have health without physic, 
and strength without the use of food ; for the Lord God will 
be our strength, and the light of his countenance will be 
health to our souls, and marrow to our bones. We shall 
then (and never till then) have enlightened understandings 
without Scripture, and be governed without a written law. 
For the Lord will perfect his law in our hearts, and we shall 
be all perfectly taught of God : his own will shall be our 
law, and his own face shall be our light for ever. We shall 
then have communion without sacraments, when Christ 
shall drink with us of the fruit of the vine new, that is, 
refresh us with the comforting wine of immediate fruition 
in the kingdom of his Father. 

5. A further excellency of this rest is this : it will be a 
suitable rest: — suited, I. To our natures. 2. To our desires. 
3. To our necessities. 

1. To our natures. If suitableness concur not with excel- 
lency, the best things may be bad to us ; for it is not that 
which makes things good in themselves, to be good to us. 
In our choice of friends, we often pass by the more excel- 
lent, to choose the more suitable ; every good agrees not 
with every nature. The choicest dainties which we feed 
upon ourselves, would be to our beasts as an unpleasing, so 
an insufficient, sustenance. 



40 the saint's everlasting rest. 

Now here is suitableness and excellency conjoined. The 
new nature of the saints doth suit their spirits to this rest : 
and indeed their holiness is nothing else but a spark taken 
from this element, and by the spirit of Christ kindled in their 
hearts, the flame whereof, as mindful of its divine original, 
doth ever mount aloft and tend to the place from whence 
it comes. Gold and earthly glory, temporal crowns and 
kingdoms, could not make a rest for saints. As they were 
not redeemed with so low a price, so neither are they 
endued with so low a nature. As God will have from them 
a spiritual worship, suitable to his own spiritual being ; so 
will he provide them a spiritual rest, suitable to his peopled 
spiritual nature. 

A heaven of the knowledge of God, and his Christ ; and 
a delightful complacency in that mutual love and everlasting 
rejoicing in the fruition of our God, a perpetual singing oi 
his high praises: this is a heaven for a saint; a spiritual 
rest, suitable to a spiritual nature. Then we shall live in 
our element. We are now as the fish in some small vessel 
of water, that hath only so much as will keep him alive : but 
what is that to the full ocean? We have a little air let into 
us to afford us breathing : but what is that to the sweet and 
fresh gales upon mount Sion ? We have a beam of the sun 
to lighten our darkness, and a warm ray to keep us from 
freezing: but then we shall live in its light, and be revived 
by its heat for ever. 

2. It is suitable to the desires of the saints : for such as is 
their nature, such are their desires ; and such as their desires, 
such will be their rest. Indeed we have now a mixed nature : 
and from contrary principles, arise contrary desires. But it 
is the desires of our renewed nature, which this rest is suited 
to. Whilst our desires remain corrupt and misguided, it is 
a far greater mercy to deny, yea, to destroy them, than to 
satisfy them: but those which are spiritual are of his own 
planting, and he will surely water them, and give the increase. 
He quickened our hunger and thirst for righteousness, that 
he might make us happy in a full satisfaction. 

Christian, this is a rest after thy own heart. It containeth 
all that thy heart can wish, that which thou longest for, 
prayest for, labourest for, there thou shalt find it all. Thou 
hadst rather have God in Christ, than all the world : why 
there thou shalt have him. Desire what thou canst, and 
ask what thou wilt, as a Christian, and it shall be given 
thee ; not only to half of the kingdom, but to the enjoyment 
of both kingdom and king. This is a life of desire and prayer ; 
but that is a life of satisfaction and enjoyment. 

3. This rest is suitable to the saints' necessities also, as 
well as to their natures and desires. It contains whatsoever 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 41 

they truly wanted ; not supplying them with gross created 
comforts, which, like Saul's armour on David, are more 
burden than benefit : but they shall there have the benefit 
without the burden; and the pure spirits extracted (as it 
were) shall make up their cordial, without the mixture of 
any drossy or earthly substance. It was Christ and perfect 
holiness, which they most needed, and with these shall they 
be supplied. 

4. Another excellency of our rest will be this, that it will 
be absolutely perfect and complete; and this both in the 
sincerity and universality of it. We shall then have joy 
without sorrow, and rest without weariness : as there is no 
mixture of our corruption with our graces, so no mixture of 
sufferings with our solace : there is none of these waves in 
that harbour which now toss us up and down. To-day we 
are well, to-morrow sick : to-day in esteem, to-morrow in 
disgrace : to-day we have friends, to-morrow none : nay, we 
have wine and vinegar in the same cup. If revelation should 
raise us up to the third heaven, the messenger of Satan 
must presently buffet us : but there is none of this incon- 
stancy in heaven. If perfect love cast out fear, then perfect 
joy must needs cast out sorrow, and perfect happiness exclude 
all the relicks of misery. There will be a universal per- 
fecting of all our parts and powers, and a universal removal 
of all our evils. And though the positive part be the sweetest, 
and that which draws the other after it, even as the rising of 
the sun excludes the darkness ; yet is not the negative part 
to be slighted, even our freedom from so many and great 
calamities. Let us therefore look over these more punctu- 
ally, and see what it is we shall there rest from. In general, 
it is from all evil. Particularly, first, from sin.. Secondly, 
suffering. 

First, It excludeth nothing more directly than sin; whether 
original, and of nature ; or actual, and of conversation ; for 
" there entereth nothing that defileth, nor that worketh 
abomination, nor that maketh a lie." What need Christ 
have died, if heaven could have contained imperfect souls? 
For " to this end came he into the world, that he might put 
away the works of the devil." His blood and Spirit have 
not done all this,, to leave us after all, defiled : " For what 
communion hath light with darkness ? And what fellowship 
hath Christ with Belial ?" He that hath prepared for sin 
the torments of hell, will never admit it into the blessedness 
of heaven. Therefore, Christian, never fear this : if thou 
be once in heaven, thou shalt sin no more. Is not this glad 
news to thee, who hast prayed, and watched, and laboured 
against it so long? I know if it were offered to thy choice, 
thou wouldst rather choose to be freed from sin, than to be 

4* 



42 the saint's everlasting rest. 

made heir of the world. Thou shalt have thy desire : that 
hard heart, those vile thoughts, which thou couldst no more 
leave behind thee, than leave thyself behind thee, shall be 
now left behind for ever. If they accompany thee to death, 
they cannot proceed a step further. Thy understanding 
shall never more be troubled with darkness : ignorance and 
error are inconsistent with this light. Now thou walkest 
like a man in the twilight, ever afraid of being out of the 
way : but then will all darkness be dispelled, and our blind 
understandings fully opened. 

O what would we give to know clearly all the profound 
mysteries in the doctrine of redemption, of justification, of 
the nature of grace, of the Divine attributes ! What would 
we give to see all dark scriptures made plain ; to see all 
seeming contradictions reconciled ! Why, when glory hath 
taken away the veil from our eyes, all this will be known 
in a moment ; we shall then see clearly into all the contro- 
versies about doctrine or discipline that now perplex us. 
The poorest Christian is presently there a more perfect 
divine, than any is here. We are now, through our ignorance, 
subject to such mutability, that in points not fundamental 
we change as the moon : but when once our ignorance is 
perfectly healed, then shall we be settled, resolved men ; 
then shall our reproach be taken from us, and we shall 
never change our judgment more. Our ignorance now doth 
lead us into error, to the grief of our more knowing brethren, 
to the disturbing the church's quiet, to the scandalizing of 
others, and weakening ourselves. How many a faithful 
soul is seduced into error ! Loath they are to err, God 
knows ; and therefore read and pray, and yet err stil 1 . And 
in lesser and more difficult points, how can it be otherwise. 

Can it be expected, that men void of learning and strength 
of parts, unstudied and untaught, should at the first onset 
know those truths, which they are almost incapable of 
knowing at all, when the greatest divines of clearest judg- 
ment acknowledge so much difficulty, that they could almost 
find in their hearts sometimes to profess them quite beyond 
their reach ? But O that happy approaching day, when 
error shall vanish away for ever, when our understanding 
shall be filled with God himself, whose light will leave no 
darkness in us ! His face shall be the Scripture, where we 
shall read the truth : and himself, instead of teachers and 
counsellors, to perfect our understandings, and acquaint us 
with himself. No more error, no more scandal to others, 
no more disquiet to our own spirits, no more mistaken zeal 
for falsehood. Many a good man hath here in Ins mistaken 
zeal, been a means to deceive and pervert his brethren ; and 
when he sees his own error, cannot again tell how to imde-. 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 43 

ceive them ; but there we shall all conspire in one truth, as 
being one in him who is the truth. 

And as we shall rest from all the sin of our understanding, 
so of our wills, affections, and conversation. We shall no 
more retain this rebelling principle, which is still withdraw- 
ing us from God. We shall no more be oppressed with the 
power of our corruptions, nor vexed with their presence : 
no pride, passion, slothfulness, senselessness, shall enter 
with us ; no strangeness to God, and things of God ; no 
coldness of affections, nor imperfections in our love ; no 
uneven walking, nor grieving of the Spirit ; no scandalous 
action, or unholy conversation : we shall rest from all these 
for ever. Then shall our understandings receive their light 
from the face of God, as the full moon from the open sun : 
then shall our wills correspond to the Divine will, as face 
answers face in the glass ; and his will shall be our law 
and rule, from which we shall never swerve again. I con- 
clude, therefore, with the words next my text, " He that is 
entered into his rest, has ceased from his own works, as God 
from his." So that there is a perfect rest from sin. 

Secondly, It is a perfect rest from suffering. When the 
cause is gone, the effect ceaseth. Our sufferings were but 
the consequents of our sinning, and here they shall cease 
together. 

1. We shall rest from all the temptations of Satan. What 
a grief is it to a Christian, though he yield not to the tempta- 
tion, yet to be still solicited to deny his Lord ? That such a 
thought should be cast into his heart? That he can set 
about nothing that is good, but Satan is still dissuading him 
from it, distracting him in it, or discouraging him after it? 
What a torment, as well as a temptation is it, to have such 
horrid motions made to his soul ? Sometime cruel thoughts 
of God ; sometime undervaluing thoughts of Christ ; some- 
time unbelieving thoughts of Scripture ; sometime injurious 
thoughts of Providence : to be tempted sometime to turn to 
present things ; sometime to play with the baits of sin ; 
sometime to venture on the delights of the flesh ; and some- 
time to Atheism itself! Especially when we know the 
treachery of our own hearts, that they are as tinder, ready 
to take fire as soon as one of these sparks shall fall upon 
them : but when the day of our deliverance comes, we shall 
fully rest from these temptations. Satan is then bound up, 
the time of tempting is done ; the time of torment to himself, 
and his conquered captives, is then come ; and the victorious 
saints shall have triumph from temptation. Now we walk 
among his snares, and are in danger to be circumvented 
with his wiles : but then we are quite above his snares. He 
bath power here to tempt us in the wilderness, but he 



44 the saint's everlasting rest. 

entereth not the holy city : he may set us on the pinnacle of 
the temple in the earthly Jerusalem, but the new Jerusalem 
he may not approach. Perhaps he may bring us to an 
exceeding high mountain ; but the mount Sion, and city of 
the living God, he cannot ascend. Or if he should, yet all 
the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them, would be 
but a poor bait to the soul which is possessed of the kingdom 
of our Lord. 

2. We shall rest from all our temptations which we now 
undergo from the world and the flesh, as well as Satan : and 
that is a number inexpressible. O the hourly dangers that 
we here walk in! Every sense is a snare; every member 
a snare ; every creature a snare ; every mercy a snare ; 
and every duty a snare to us. We can scarce open our 
eyes but we are in danger : if we behold them above us, 
we are in danger of envy : if we see sumptuous buildings, 
pleasant habitations, honour, and riches, we are in danger 
to be drawn away with covetous desires : if the rags and 
beggary of others, we are in danger of self-applauding 
thoughts, or unmercifulness : if we see beauty, it is a bait 
to lust ; if deformity, to loathing and disdain. We can 
scarcely hear a word spoken, but contains to us matter of 
temptation. How soon do slanderous reports, vain jests, or 
wanton speeches, creep into the heart? How strong and 
prevalent a temptation is our appetite? And how constant 
and strong a watch doth it require ? Have we comeliness 
and beauty? what fuel for pride ! Are we deformed ? what 
an occasion of repining ! Have we strength of reason and 
learning ? O how hard is it not to be puffed up ! to hunt 
after applause ! to despise our brethren ! Are we unlearned, 
of shallow heads, and slender parts ? how apt then to despise 
what we have not! and to undervalue that which we do 
not know! and to err with confidence because of our igno- 
rance ! And if conceitedness and pride do but strike in, to 
become a zealous enemy to truth, and a leading troubler 
of the church's peace, under pretences of truth ! Are we 
men of eminency and authority ? how strong is our tempta- 
tion to slight our brethren ! to abuse our trust ! to seek 
ourselves ! to stand upon our honour and privileges ! to 
forget ourselves, our poor brethren, and the public good ! 
how hard to devote our power to his glory, from whom we 
have received it ! how prone to make our- wills our law ! 
Are we inferiors? how prone to grudge at others' pre- 
eminence! and to bring their actions to the bar of our judg- 
ment! Are we rich, and not too much exalted? Are we 
poor, and not discontented ? Do we set upon duties ? they are 
snares too : either we are stupid and lazy, or rest in them, 
and turn from Christ. In a word, not one word that falls 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 45 

from the mouth of a minister or Christian, but is a snare ; 
nor a place we come into : not a word that our tongues 
speak, not any mercy we possess, nor a bit we put into our 
mouths, but they are snares ; not that God hath made them 
so, but through our own corruption they become so to us. 
So that what a sad case are we in? especially they that 
discern them not! For it is almost impossible they should 
escape them. It was not for nothing that our Lord cried 
out, " What I say to one, I say to all, Watch." We are 
like the lepers at Samaria, " If we go into the city, there is 
nothing but famine ; if we sit still, we perish." 

But for ever blessed be omnipotent Love, which saves us 
out of all these, and makes our straits but the advantages of 
the glory of his grace ! And " blessed be the Lord, who 
hath not given our souls for a prey : our soul is escaped as 
a bird out of the snare of the fowler; the snare is broken, 
and we are escaped." Now, our houses, our clothes, our 
sleep, our food, our physic, our father, mother, wife, children, 
friends, goods, lands, are all so many temptations ; and our- 
selves the greatest snare to ourselves : but in heaven, the 
danger and trouble is over : there is nothing but what will 
advance our joy. Now every companion is beckoning us to 
sin, and we can scarce tell how to say to them, Nay ; but 
our rest will free us from all these. As Satan hath no 
entrance there, so neither any thing to serve his malice: 
but all things there with us conspire the praises of our 
great Deliverer. 

3. And as we rest from temptations, so also from all abuses 
and persecutions which we suffer at the hands of wicked 
men. We shall be scorned, derided, imprisoned, banished 
oy them no more. The prayers of the souls under the 
altar will then be answered, and God " will avenge their 
blood on those that dwell on the earth." This is the time 
for crowning with thorns, buffeting, spitting on : that is the 
time for crowning with glory. Now the law is decreed on, 
" That whosoever will live godly in Christ Jesus, shall suffer 
persecutions : then they that suffered with him, shall be 
glorified with him." Now we must be " hated of all men 
for Christ's name sake :" then " will Christ be admired in 
his saints" that were thus hated. We are here as the scorn 
and offscouring of all things ; as men set up for a gazing 
stock to angels and men, even for signs and wonders amongst 
professing Christians ; they put us out of their synagogues, 
and cast out our name as evil, and separate us from their 
company : but we shall then be as much gazed at for our 
glory, and they will be shut out of the church of the saints, 
and separated from us, whether they will or no. They now 
w think it strange that we run not with them to all excess (if 



46 the saint's everlasting rest. 

riot :" they will then think more strange that they ran not 
with its in the despised ways of God. We can now scarce 
pray in our families, or sing praise to God, but our voice is 
a vexation to them : how must it torment them then, to see 
us praising and rejoicing, while they are howling and 
lamenting? 

Brethren, you that now can attempt no work of God 
without resistance, and find you must either lose the love 
of the world, and your outward comforts, or else the love 
of God, and your eternal salvation, consider you shall in 
heaven have no discouraging company, nor any but those 
who will further your work, and gladly join heart and voice 
with you in your everlasting joy and praise. Till then 
" possess your souls in patience :" bind all reproaches as a 
crown to your heads : esteem them greater riches than the 
world's treasure : " account it matter of joy when ye fall 
into tribulation." You have seen that our God is able to 
deliver us ; but this is nothing to our final deliverance : " he 
will recompense tribulation to them that trouble you ; and 
to you that are troubled, rest with Christ." 

4. We shall then also rest from all our sad divisions and 
unchristian quarrels with one another. As he said, who 
saw the carcasses lie together, as if they had embraced each 
other, who had been slain by each other in a duel, "How 
lovingly do they embrace one another, who perished through 
their mutual enmity !" so, how lovingly do thousands live 
together in heaven, who lived in divisions on earth ! As he 
said, who beheld how quietly and peaceably the bones and 
dust of mortal enemies did lie together, " You did not live 
together so peaceably ;" so we may say of multitudes in 
heaven now all of one mind, one heart, and one employment, 
you lived not on earth in so sweet familiarity. There is no 
contention, because none of this pride, ignorance, or other 
corruption: Paul and Barnabas are now fully reconciled. 
There they are not every man conceited of his own under- 
standing, and in love with the issue of his own brain ; but 
all admiring the Divine perfection, and in love with God and 
one another. As old Gryneus wrote to his friend, " If I see 
you no more on earth, yet we shall there meet, where Luther 
and Zuinglius are now well agreed." There is no recording 
our brethren's infirmities; nor raking into the sores which 
Christ died to heal. There is no plotting to strengthen our 
party; nor deep designing against our brethren. 

And is it not a shame and pity, that our course is now so 
contrary ? Surely, if there be sorrow or shame in heaven, 
we shall then be both sorry and ashamed to look one another 
in the face: and to remember all this carriage on earth, 
even as the brethren of Joseph were to behold him, when 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 47 

they remembered their former unkind usage. Is it not 
enough that all the world is against us, but we must also be 
against ourselves ? Did I ever think to have heard Christians 
so to reproach and scorn Christians? and men professing 
the fear of God, to make so little conscience of censuring, 
vilifying, and disgracing one another ? O what hellish things 
are ignorance and pride, that can bring men's souls to such 
a case as this ! Paul knew what he said, when he command 
ed, that " a novice should not be a teacher, lest being lifted 
up he fall into the condemnation of the devil," 1 Tim. iii, 6. 
He discerned that such young Christians that have got but 
a little smattering knowledge in religion, lie in greatest 
danger of this pride and condemnation. Who but Paul 
could have foreseen, that among the very teachers and 
governors of so choice a church as Ephesus, there were 
some that afterwards should be notorious sect masters ? 
" That of their own selves men should arise, speaking per- 
verse things, to draw away disciples after them," Acts 
xx, 30. Who then can expect better from any society now, 
how knowing and holy soever ? To-day they may be 
unanimous, and joined in love : and perhaps within a few 
weeks be divided, and at bitter enmity, through their doating 
on questions that tend not to edify. 

5. We shall then rest from all which we now undergo, 
by participating with our brethren in their calamities. Alas, 
if we had nothing upon ourselves to trouble us, yet what 
heart could lay aside sorrows, that lives in the sound of the 
church's sufferings ? If Job had nothing upon his body to 
disquiet him, yet the message of his children's overthrow 
must needs grieve the most patient soul. Except we are 
turned into steel or stone, and have lost both Christian and 
human affection, there needs no more than the miseries 
of our brethren to fill our hearts with sorrows. The church 
on earth is a mere hospital ; which way soever we go, we 
hear complaining; and into what corner soever we cast 
our eyes, we behold objects of pity: some groaning under 
a dark understanding, some under a senseless heart, some 
languishing under unfruitful weakness, and some bleeding 
for miscarriages and wilfulness, and some in a lethargy, 
that they are past complaining ; some crying out of their 
pining poverty, some groaning under pains and infirmities, 
and some bewailing a whole catalogue of calamities, espe- 
cially in days of common sufferings : but our day of rest 
will free us and them from all this. Now we may enter 
many a poor Christian's cottage, and see poverty possessing 
and filling all : how much better is that day, when we shall 
see them filled with Christ, clothed with glory, and equal 
with the greatest princes ? 



48 THE SAINT S EVERLASTING REST, 

But a far greater grief it is to our spirits, to see the spiritual 
miseries of our brethren ; to see such a one, with whom we 
took sweet counsel, now falling off to sensuality, turned 
drunkard, worldling, or a persecutor, and these trying times 
have given us too large occasion for such sorrows ! To see 
our dearest friends turned aside from the truth of Christ, 
and confident in the flesh, continue their neglect of Christ 
and their souls, and nothing waking them out of their secu- 
rity ; and to think how certainly they shall be in hell for 
ever, if they die in their present state : and will it not be a 
blessed day, when we shall rest from all these sorrows ? 
" When the people shall be all righteous, even the work of 
God's hands, the branch of his planting, that he may be 
glorified?" Thus shall we rest from our participation of 
our brethren's suffe rings. 

6. We shall rest from all our personal sufferings. And 
though this may seern a small thing to those that live in 
continual ease, and abound in all kind of prosperity ; yet 
methinks, to the daily afflicted soul, it should make the 
forethoughts of heaven delightful : and I think I shall meet 
with few of the saints, but will say that this is their own case. 

Though we are reconciled by the blood of the covenant, 
and the price is paid for our full deliverance, yet our 
Redeemer sees fit to leave this measure of misery upon us, 
to mind us of what we would else forget; to be serviceable 
to his wise and gracious designs, and advantageous to our 
full and final recovery. As all our senses are the inlets of 
sin, so they are the inlets of sorrow. Grief creeps in at our 
eyes, at our ears, and almost every where : it seizeth upon 
our heads, our hearts, our flesh, our spirits ; and what part 
doth escape it ? Fears devour us, and darken our delights, 
as the frost nips the buds : cares feed upon our spirits, as 
the scorching sun doth wither the delicate flowers. Or, if 
any hath fortified his inwards against these, yet he is naked 
still without. 

What tender pieces are these dusty bodies ? What brittle 
glasses do we bear about us ? And how many thousand 
dangers are they hurried through ? And how hardly cured 
if once cracked ? O the multitude of slender veins, of tender 
membranes, nerves, fibres, muscles, arteries ; and all subject 
to obstructions, tensions, contractions, resolutions, ruptures, 
or one thing or other to cause their grief! Every one is a 
fit subject for pain, and fit to communicate that pain to the 
whole : but sin, and flesh, and dust, and pain, will all be left 
behind together. 

O the blessed tranquillity of that region, where there is 
nothing but sweet continued peace! No succession of joy 
there, because no intermission. Our lives will be but one 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST* 49 

joy, as our time will be changed into one eternity. O 
healthful place, where none are sick ! O fortunate land, 
where all are kings ! O place most holy, where all are 
priests ! How free a state, where none are servants, save 
to their supreme monarch ! Our face shall no more be pale 
or sad : our groans and sighs will be done away, and God 
" shall wipe away all tears from our eyes." No more parting 
of friends, nor voice of lamentation heard in our dwellings ; 
no more breaches nor disproportion in our friendship, nor 
any trouble accompanying our relations : no more care of 
masters for servants, or parents for children, or magistrates 
over subjects, or ministers over people. O what room can 
there be for any evil, where the whole is perfectly filled 
with God ! " Then shall the ransomed of the Lord return 
and come to Sion with songs, and everlasting joy upon their 
heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and 
sighing shall flee away," Isaiah xxxv, 10. Hold out then a 
little longer, O my soul ; bear with the infirmities of thine 
earthly tabernacle ; endure that share of sorrows that the 
love of thy Father shall impose ; submit to his indignation 
also, because thou hast sinned against him ; it will be thus 
but a little while ; the sound of thy Redeemer's feet is even 
at the door; and thine own deliverance nearer than many 
others. And thou who hast often cried in the language of 
the divine poet, 

11 Sorrow was all my soul ; I scarce believed, 
Till grief did tell me roundly, that I lived ■" 

shalt then feel that God and joy is all thy soul ; the fruition 
of whom, with thy freedom from all these sorrows, will 
more sweetly and more feelingly make thee know, and to 
his eternal praise acknowledge, that thou livest. And thus 
we shall rest from all afflictions. 

The last blessed attribute of this rest is, that it is an eternal 
rest. This is the crown of our crown ; without which all 
were comparatively nothing. The very thought of leaving 
it would embitter all our joys ; and the more, because of the 
singular excellencies we must forsake. It would be a hell 
in heaven to think of once losing heaven : as it would be a 
kind of heaven to the damned, had they but hopes of once 
escaping. 

It makes our present life of little value, (were it not for t 
the reference it hath to eternity,) to think that we must 
shortly lay it down. How can we take delight in any thing, 
when we remember how short that delight will be ? But, O 
blessed eternity ! where our lives are perplexed with no such 
thoughts, nor our joys interrupted with any such fears ! O 
what do I say when I talk of eternity ? Can my shallow 
thoughts conceive it? To be eternally blessed, and so 

5 



60 the saint's everlasting rest. 

blessed ! Surely this, if any thing, is the resemblance of 
God ; eternity as a piece of infiniteness, Then, " O death, 
where is thy sting ? O grave, where is thy victory ?" Days, 
and nights, and years, time, and end, and death, are words 
which there have no signification ; nor are used, except 
perhaps to extol eternity ; as the mention of hell, to extol 
heaven. All the years of our Lord, and the years of our 
life, are swallowed up and lost in this eternity. 

While we were servants we held by lease ; and that but 
for the term of transitory life: " But the on sabideth in the 
house for ever." Our earthly paradise in Eden had a way 
out, but none, that ever we could find, in again : but this 
eternal paradise hath a way in, (a milky way to us, but a 
bloody way to Christ,) but no way out again : " For they that 
would pass from hence to you, 3 ' saith Abraham, " cannot :" 
a strange phrase ! Would any pass from such a place, if 
they might? Could they endure to be absent from God 
again one hour? No : but upon supposal they would, yet 
they could not. O then, my soul, let go thy dreams of pre- 
sent pleasures ; and loose thy hold of earth and flesh. Fear 
not to -enter that estate, where thou shalt ever after cease 
thy fears. Sit down, and sadly once a .day bethink thyself 
of this eternity. Among all the arithmetical numbers, study 
the value of this infinite cipher, which though it stand for 
nothing in the vulgar account, doth yet contain all our 
millions, as much less than a simple unit. Lay by the 
perplexed and contradicting chronological tables, and fix 
thine eye on this eternity ; and the lines which remote thou 
couldst not follow, thou shalt see altogether here concen- 
tred. Study less these tedious volumes of history, which 
contain but the silent narration of dreams, and are but the 
pictures of the actions of shadows: and instead of all, study 
frequently, study thoroughly, this one word [eternity,'] and 
when thou hast thoroughly learned that one word, thou 
wilt never look on books again. What ! live and never die! 
Rejoice, and ever rejoice! O what sweet words are these! 
This word [everlasting] contains the accomplished perfection 
of our glory. O that the wicked sinner would but soundly 
study this word [everlasting ;] methinks it would startle him 
out of his deep sleep ! O that the gracious soul would 
believingly study this word [everlasting ;] methinks it should 
revive him in the deepest agony ! And must I, Lord, thus 
live for ever? Then will I also love for ever. Must my 
joys be immortal ? And shall not my thanks be also immor- 
tal ? Surely, if I shall never lose my glory, I will never 
also cease thy praises. If thou wilt both perfect and perpe- 
tuate me, and my glory ; as I shall be thine, and not mine 
own, so shall my glory be thy glory ; and as they did take 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 51 

their spring from thee, so all shall devolve to thee again : 
and as thy glory was thine ultimate end in my glory, so 
shall it also be mine end, when thou hast crowned me with 
that glory which hath no end. And to " thee, O King eternal, 
immortal, invisible, the only wise God. shall be the honour, 
and glory, for ever and ever. Amen." 



CHAPTER VI. 

THE PEOPLE OF GOD DESCRIBED. 

Having thus performed my first task of describing the 
saints' rest: it remains that now I proceed to the second, 
and show you what these people of God are, and why so 
called ; for whom this blessed rest remaineth. 

Regeneration is the first and great qualification of the 
people of God. To be the people of God without regenera- 
tion, is as impossible as to be the children of men without 
generation ; seeing we are born God's enemies, we must be 
new born his sons, or else remain his enemies still. 

Christ hath spoken it with his mouth, that " Except a 
man be born again, he cannot enter into the kingdom of 
God." The greatest reformation of life, without this new 
life, wrought in the soul, may procure our further delusion, 
but never our salvation. 

But by what acts doth this new life discover itself? 

The first work I call conviction, which comprehends the 
knowledge of what the Scripture speaks against sin and 
dinners; and that this Scripture which speaks so, is the 
word of God himself. It comprehends also, some knowledge 
of ourselves, and our own guilt, and an acknowledgment 
of the verity of those consequences, which, from the practice 
of sin in us, and threats in Scripture, conclude us miserable. 

2. As there must be conviction, so also sensibility. God 
works on the heart, as well as the head ; both were corrupted 
and out of order. The principle of new life doth quicken 
both. All true spiritual knowledge doth pass into the 
affections. • The great things of sin, of grace, and Christ, 
and eternity, which are of weight, one would think, to move 
a rock : yet shake not the heart of the carnal professor, nor 
pierce his soul to the quick : though he should be a constant 
preacher of them to others, yet they little affect himself: 
when he is pressing them upon the hearts of others, you 
would little think how insensible is his own soul : his inven- 
tion procureth him zealous and moving expressions, but 
they cannot procure him answerable affections. 

The things that the soul is thus convinced and sensible 
of, are especially these : 



52 the saint's everlasting rest. 

1. The evil of sin. The sinner is made to know and feel 
that the sin which was his delight, is a more loathsome 
thing than toads or serpents, and a greater evil than plague 
or famine, or any other calamities : it being a breach of the 
righteous law of the Most High God, dishonourable to him, 
and destructive to the sinner. 

Now the sinner reads and hears the reproofs of sin, as 
words of course ; but when you mention his sin, he feels 
you speak at his very heart, and yet is contented you should 
show him the worst : he was wont to marvel, what made 
men keep such a stir against sin, what harm it was for a 
man to take a little pleasure; he saw no such heinousness 
in it. But now the case is altered : God hath opened his 
eyes to see its inexpressible vileness. 

2. The soul in this great work is convinced and sensible, 
as of the evil of sin, so of its own misery by reason of sin. 
They who before read the threats of God's law, as men do the 
stories of foreign wars ; now find it is their own story, and 
perceive they read their own doom, as if they found their 
names written in the curse, or heard the law say, as Nathan, 
" Thou art the man." The wrath of God seemed to him but 
as a storm to a man in a dry house : but now he finds the 
disease is his own, and feels the pains in his own bowels. 
In a word, he finds himself a condemned man, dead and 
damned in point of law, and that nothing is wanting but 
mere execution to make him absolutely and irrecoverably 
miserable. 

"Whether you will call this a work of the law or gospel, it 
is a work of the Spirit wrought in some measure in all the 
regenerate : and though some judge it unnecessary bondage, 
yet it is beyond my conceiving, how he should come to Christ 
for pardon, that first found not himself guilty and condemn- 
ed : " The whole need not the physician, but they that are 
sick." Yet I deny not, but the discovery of the remedy as 
soon as the misery, may prevent a great part of the trouble, 
and the distinct effect on the soul, to be with much more 
difficulty discerned : nay, the actings of the soul are so 
quick, and oft so confused, that the distinct order of these 
workings may not be apprehended or remembered at all ; 
and perhaps the joyful apprehensions of mercy may make 
the sense of misery the sooner forgotten.- 

3. So doth the Spirit also convince the soul of the crea- 
ture's vanity and insufficiency. Every man naturally is a 
flat idolater. Our hearts were turned from God in our first 
fall ; and ever since the creature hath been our God : this is 
the grand sin of nature : when we set up to ourselves a 
wrong end, we must needs err in all the means. The crea- 
ture is, to every unregenerate man, his god : he ascribeth to 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 53 

it the Divine prerogatives, and alloweth it the highest room 
in his soul ; or if ever he come to be convinced of misery, 
he fleeth to it as his saviour. Indeed God and his Christ 
have usually the name ; but the real expectation is from the 
creature, and the work of God is laid upon it. His pleasure, 
his profit, and his honour, is the natural man's trinity ; and 
his self, that is these in unity : indeed, it is that flesh that is 
the principal idol; the other three are deified in their rela- 
tion to ourselves. It was our first sin, to aspire to be as 
gods ; and it is the greatest sin that runs in our blood, and 
is propagated in our nature from generation to generation. 

When God should guide us, we guide ourselves ; when he 
should be our sovereign, we rule ourselves. The laws which 
he gives us, we find fault with ; and if we had had the making 
of them, we would have made them otherwise : when he 
should take care of us, (and must, or we perish,) we will 
care for ourselves : when we should depend on him daily, 
we had rather keep our stock ourselves, and have our por- 
tion in our own hands : when we should stand at his disposal, 
we would be at our own : and when we should submit to 
his providence, we usually quarrel at it : as if we knew better 
what is good for us than he, or how to dispose all things 
more wisely. This is the language of a carnal heart, though 
it doth not always speak out. When we should study God, 
we study ourselves ; when we should mind God, we mind 
ourselves ; when we should love God, we love ourselves ; 
when we should trust God, we trust ourselves ; when we 
should honour God, we honour ourselves ; when we should 
ascribe to God, and admire him, we ascribe to, and admire 
ourselves; and instead of God, w r e would have all men's 
eyes and dependence on us, and all men's thanks returned 
to us, and would gladly be the only men on earth admired 
and extolled by all. 

And thus we are naturally our own idols ; but down falls 
this Dagon, when God does once renew the soul : it is the 
great business of that great work to bring the heart back to 
God. He convinceth the sinner, 1. That the creature can 
neither be his God to make him ; 2. Nor yet his Christ, to 
recover him from his misery, to restore hi in to God, who is 
his happiness. This God doth, not only by preaching, but 
by providence also ; because words will hardly take off the 
raging senses, therefore doth God make his rod to speak, 
and continue speaking, till the sinner hear, and hath learned 
this great lesson. 

This is the great reason why affliction doth so ordinarily 
concur in the work of conversion : these real arguments 
which speak to the quick, will force a hearing when the 
most powerful words are slighted. When a sinner made 

5* 



54 the saint's everlasting rest. 

his credit his God, and God shall cast him into the lowest 
disgrace ; or bring him that idolized his riches, into a condi- 
tion wherein they cannot help him, or cause them to take 
wings and fly away; what a help is here to this work of 
conviction ? When a man that made his pleasure his God, 
whether ease, or sports, or mirth, or company, or gluttony, 
or drunkenness, or clothing, or buildings; or whatsoever a 
ranging eye, a curious ear, a raging appetite, or a lustful 
heart could desire, and God shall take these from him, or 
give him their sting and curse with them, and turn them all 
into gall and wormwood, what a help is here to conviction? 
When God shall cast a man into a languishing sickness, and 
inflict wounds and anguish on his heart, and stir up against 
him his own conscience, and then as it were take him by 
the hand, and lead him to credit, to riches, to pleasure, to 
company, to sports, to whatsoever was dearest to him, and 
say, Now try if these can help you ; can these heal thy 
wounded conscience ? Can they now support thy tottering 
cottage? Can they keep thy departing soul in thy body? 
or save thee from mine everlasting wrath ? Will they prove 
to thee eternal pleasure ? or redeem thy soul from the eter- 
nal flames? Cry aloud to them, and see now whether these 
will be instead of God and his Christ unto thee. O how this, 
works with the sinner ! when sense itself acknowledged! 
the truth, and even the flesh is convinced of the creature's 
vanity. 

4. The fourth thing that the soul is convinced and sensible 
of, is the absolute necessity, the full sufficiency, and perfect 
excellency of Jesus Christ. 

This conviction is not by mere argumentation, as a man 
is convinced of some unconcerning consequence by dispute ; 
but also by the sense of our desperate misery, as a man in a 
famine of the necessity of food ; or a man that had read or 
heard his condemnation, is convinced of the absolute neces~ 
sity of a pardon. Now the sinner finds himself in another 
case than ever he was aware of: he feels an insupportable- 
burden upon him, and sees there is none but Christ can take 
it off: he perceives that he is under the wrath of God, and 
that the law proclaims him a rebel and outlaw, and none 
but Christ can make his peace : he is as a man pursued by a 
lion, that must perish if he find not present sanctuary : he 
feels the curse doth lie upon him, and upon all he hath, for 
his sake, and Christ alone can make him blessed : he is now 
brought to this dilemma, either he must have Christ to justify 
him, or be eternally condemned; he must have Christ to 
save him, or burn in hell for ever ; he must have Christ ta 
bring him again to God, or to be shut out of his presence 
everlastingly. And no wonder, if he cry, as the martyr 



THE SAINT S EVERLASTING REST, 55 

Lambert, " None but Christ : none but Christ." It is not 
gold but bread that will satisfy the hungry : nor any thing 
but pardon, that will comfort the condemned. " All things 
are now but dross and dung : and what he counted gain, is 
now but loss in comparison of Christ :" for as the sinner 
seeth his utter misery, and the disability of himself, and all 
things to relieve him ; so he doth perceive, that there is no 
saving mercy out of Christ. There is none found in heaven 
or on earth that can open the sealed book, save the Lamb ; 
without his blood there is no remission, and without remis- 
sion there is no salvation. Could the sinner now make any 
shift without Christ, or could any thing else supply his 
wants, and save his soul, then might Christ be disregarded : 
but now he is convinced, that there is no other name, and 
the necessity is absolute. 

2. And as the soul is thus convinced of the necessity of 
Christ, so also of his full sufficiency : he sees, though the crea- 
ture cannot, and himself cannot, yet Christ can. Though the 
rig leaves of our own unrighteous righteousness are too short 
to cover our nakedness, yet the righteousness of Christ is 
large enough : ours is disproportionate to the justice of the 
law, but Christ's doth extend to every tittle : his sufferings 
being a perfect satisfaction to the law, and " all power in 
heaven and earth being given to him," he is now able to 
supply every of our wants, and " to save to the uttermost all 
that come to him." 

3. The soul is also here convinced of the perfect excel- 
lency of Jesus Christ, both as he is considered in himself, 
and as considered in relation to us : both as he is the only 
way to the Father, and as he is the end, being one with the 
Father. Before, he knew Christ's excellency as a blind 
man knows the light of the sun ; but now as one that 
beholdeth his glory. 

And thus doth the Spirit convince the soul. 

4. After this sensible conviction, the will discovereth also 
its change ; and that in regard of all the forementioned 
objects. 

1. The sin which the understanding pronounceth evil, the 
will doth turn from with abhorrency. Not that the sensitive 
appetite is changed, or any way made to abhor its object; 
but when it would carry us to sin against God ; this disorder 
and evil the will abhcrreth. 

2. The misery also which sin hath procured, as he disr- 
cerneth, so he bewaileth. It is impossible that the soul now 
living, should look either on its trespass against God, or its 
own self-procured calamity, without some compunction. 
He that truly discerneth that he hath killed Christ, and 
killed himself, will surely in some measure be pricked to 



56 the saint's everlasting rest. 

the heart. If he cannot weep, he can heartily groan ; and 
his heart feels what his understanding sees. 

3. The creature he now renounceth as vain, and turneth 
it out of his heart with disdain. Not that he undervalueth 
it, or disclaimeth its use ; but its idolatrous abuse, and it** 
unjust usurpation. 

There is a two-fold error very common in the description! 
of the work of conversion. The one, of those who onlj 
mention the sinner's turning from sin to God, without men- 
tioning the receiving Christ by faith. The other, of those 
%vho only mention a sinner's believing, and then think they 
have said all : nay, they blame them as legalists, who make 
any thing but the bare believing of the love of God in Christ 
to us, to be part of the work ; and would persuade poor souls 
to question all their former comforts, and conclude the work 
to have been only legal, because they have made their change 
of heart, and turning from sin, part of it ; and have taken up 
part of their comfort from the reviewing of these. 

Indeed, should they take up here without Christ, or take 
such a change instead of Christ, in whole or in part, the 
reprehension were just. But can Christ be the way, where 
the creature is the end ; is he not the only way to the Father ? 
Can we seek to Christ to reconcile us to God, while in our 
hearts we prefer the creature before him ? In the soul of 
every unregenerate man, the creature is both God and Christ. 
Can Christ be believed in, where our own righteousness, or 
any other thing, is trusted as our saviour ? 

The truth is : as turning from the creature to God, and 
not by Christ, is no true turning ; so believing in Christ, 
while the creature hath our hearts, is no true believing. 
And therefore, in the work of self examination, whoever 
would find in himself a thorough sincere work, must rind 
an entire work ; even the one of these as well as the other. 

In the review of which entire work, there is no doubt but 
his soul may take comfort. And it is not to be made so 
light of, as most do, that Scripture doth so ordinarily put 
repentance before faith, and make them jointly conditions 
of the gospel ; which repentance contains those acts of the 
will before expressed. 

It is true, if we take faith in the largest sense, then it 
contains repentance in it; but if we take it strictly, no 
doubt there are some acts of it go before repentance, and 
some follow after. 

4. And as the will is thus averted from the forementioned 
objects ; so at the same time doth it cleave to God the 
Father, and to Christ. Its first acting consists especially in 
intending and desiring God for his portion and chief good ; 
having before been convinced that nothing else can be his 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST, 57 

happiness, he now finds it in God ; and therefore looks 
toward it. But it is yet rather with desire than hope. For 
alas, the sinner hath already found himself to be a stranger 
and an enemy to God, under the guilt of sin, and curse of 
the law, and knows there is no coming to him in peace 
till his case be altered ; and therefore, having before been 
convinced also, that only Christ is able and willing to do 
this, and having heard this mercy in the gospel freely 
offered, his next act is, to accept of Christ as his Saviour 
and Lord. 

Therefore both mistake : they who only mention our 
turning to Christ, and they who only mention our turning 
to God, in this work of conversion. St. Paul's preaching 
Was " repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord 
Jesus Christ." And " life eternal consists, first in knowing 
the only true God," and then "Jesus Christ whom he hath 
sent," John xvii, 3. The former is the natural part of the 
covenant, to take the Lord only for our God. The latter is 
the supernatural part, to take Christ only for our Redeemer. 
The former is first necessary, and implied in the latter. 

Though repentance and good works are required to our 
full justification at judgment, as subservient to, or concur- 
rent with, faith; yet is the nature of this justifying faith 
itself contained, in accepting of Christ for Saviour and Lord. 
I call it accepting, it being principally an act of the will ; 
but yet also of the whole soul. This accepting being that 
which the gospel presseth to, and calleth the receiving or 
accepting Christ. I call it an affectionate accepting, though 
love seem distinct from faith, yet I take it as essential to 
that faith that justifies. To accept Christ without love, is 
not justifying faith. Nor doth love follow as a fruit, but 
immediately concur : as essential to a true accepting. 

It is an accepting him for our Saviour and Lord. For in 
both relations will he be received, or not at all. It is not 
only to acknowledge his sufferings, and accept of pardon 
and glory, but to acknowledge his sovereignty, and submit 
to his government and way of saving. 

The work (which Christ thus accepted of, to perform,) 
is, to bring the sinners to God, that they may be happy in 
him ; and this both really by his Spirit, and relatively in 
reconciling them, and making them sons ; and to present 
them perfect before him at last, and to possess them of the 
kingdom. The obtaining of these are the sinner's lawful 
ends in receiving Christ ; and to these uses doth he offer 
himself to us. 

5. To this end doth the sinner now enter into a cordial 
covenant with Christ. But he was never strictly, nor com- 
fortably, in covenant with Christ till now. He is sure Christ 



58 the saint's everlasting rest. 

doth consent, and now doth he cordially consent himself; 
and so the agreement is fully made. 

6. With this covenant, concurs a mutual delivery ; Christ 
delivereth himself in all comfortable relations to the sinner, 
and the sinner delivereth up himself to be saved and ruled 
by Christ. Now doth the soul resolvedly conclude, I have 
been blindly led by the flesh, the world, and the devi", too 
long, almost to my destruction ; I will now be wholly at the 
disposal of my Lord, who hath bought me with his blood, 
and will bring me to his glory. And thus the complete 
work of saving faith consisteth in this covenanting, or 
mystical marriage, of the sinner to Christ. 

Thus you have a naked enumeration of the essentials of 
this people of God : not a full portraiture of them in all 
their excellencies, nor all the notes whereby they be dis- 
cerned. And though it will be part of the following appli- 
cation to put you upon trial; yet because the description is 
now before your eyes, and these evidencing works are fresh 
in your memory, it will not be unseasonable to take an 
account of your own estates, and to view yourselves exactly 
in this glass, before you pass. And I beseech thee, reader, 
as thou hast the hope of a Christian, yea, or the reason of a 
man, to deal thoroughly, and search carefully, and judge 
thyself as one that must shortly be judged by the righteous 
God : and faithfully answer to these few questions : 

And first, Hast thou been thoroughly convinced of a 
universal deprivation through thy whole soul ? And a 
universal wickedness through thy whole life ? and how vile 
a thing this sin is ? and that by the tenor of that covenant 
which thou hast transgressed, the least sin deserves eternal 
death ? Dost thou consent to this law, that it is true and 
righteous ? Hast thou perceived thyself sentenced to this 
death by it, and been convinced of thy undone condition? 
Hast thou further seen the utter insufficiency of every crea- 
ture, either to be itself thy happiness, or the means of curing 
this thy misery, and making thee happy in God ? Hast thou 
been convinced, that thy happiness is only in God as the 
end ? and only in Christ as the way to him ? and that thou 
must be brought to God by Christ, or perish eternally? 
Hast thou seen hereupon an absolute necessity of enjoying 
Christ ? and the full sufficiency that is in him, to do for thee 
whatsoever thy case requireth, by reason of the fulness of 
his satisfaction, the greatness of his power, the dignity of 
his person, and the freeness of his promises? Hast thou 
discovered the excellency of this pearl, to be worth thy 
selling all to buy it? Hath all this been joined with some 
sensibility ? As the convictions of a man that thirsteth, of 
the worth of drink ? And not been only a change of opinion 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 59 

produced by reading and education, as a bare notion in the 
understanding? Hath it proceeded to an abhorring sin? 
Have both thy sin and misery been a burden to thy soul ? 
and if thou could st not weep, yet couldst thou groan under 
the insupportable weight of both ? Hast thou renounced all 
thine own righteousness ? Hast thou turned thy idols out 
of thy heart ; so that the creature hath no more the sove- 
reignty ; but God and Christ ? Dost thou accept of Christ 
as thy only Saviour, and expect thy justification, recovery, 
and glory, from him alone ? Dost thou take him also for thy 
Lord and King ? And are his laws the most powerful com- 
manders of thy soul? Do they ordinarily prevail against 
the commands of the flesh, of Satan, of the greatest on earth 
that shall countermand ? and against the interest of thy 
credit, profit, pleasure, or life ; so that thy conscience is 
directly subject to Christ alone? Hath he the highest room 
in thy affections ; so that though thou canst not love him 
as thou wouldst, yet nothing else is loved so much ? Hast 
thou made a hearty covenant to this end ? and delivered up 
thyself to him? and takest thyself for his, and not thine 
own ? Is it thy utmost care, and watchful endeavour, that 
thou mayest be found faithful in this covenant ? If this be 
truly thy case, thou art one of the people of God, and as 
sure as the promise of God is true, this blessed rest remains 
for thee. Only see thou abide in Christ, and continue to 
the end : " For u any draw back, his soul will have no 
pleasure in them." 

THE CONCLUSION. 

And thus I have explained to you the subject of my text: 
and showed you darkly, what this rest is, and briefly who 
are this people of God. O that the Lord would now open 
your eyes, to discern, and be affected with the glory reveal- 
ed ! That he would take off your hearts from those dung 
hill delights, and ravish them with the views of these ever- 
lasting pleasures ! That he would bring you into the state 
of his holy and heavenly people, for whom alone this rest 
rernaineth ! That you would exactly try yourselves by the 
foregoing description ! That no soul of you might be so 
damnably deluded, as to take your natural or acquired 
parts, for the characters of a saint ! O happy, and thrice 
happy you, if these sermons might have such success with 
your souls, that so you might " die the death of the right- 
eous, and your last end be like his !" 

;nd of the first part. 



THE 

SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 

PART II. 

" There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God," Hebrews iv, 9. 

CHAPTER I. 

I have been hitherto presenting to your understandings, 
the excellency of the rest of the saints. Let your hearts 
now cheerfully embrace it, and improve it, and I shall pre- 
sent it to you in its respective uses. 

I will lay together all those uses that most concern the un 
godly, and then those that are proper to the godly themselves. 

THE INCONCEIVABLE MISERY OF THE UNGODLY IN THEIR LOSS 
OF THIS REST. 

And first, If this rest be for none but the people of God, 
what tidings is this to the ungodly world ? That there is so 
much glory, but none for them : so great joys for the saints 
of God, while they must consume in perpetual sorrows ! If 
thou who readest these words art a stranger to Christ, and 
to the holy nature and life of his people, and shall live and 
die in the condition thou art now in ; I am a messenger of 
the saddest tidings to thee, that ever yet thy ears did hear : 
that thou shalt never partake of the joys of heaven, nor 
have the least taste of the saints' eternal rest. I may say to 
thee, as Ehud to Eglon, I have a message to thee from God : 
but It is a mortal message, that as sure as the word of God 
is true, thou shalt never see the face of God with comfort. 
This sentence I am commanded to pass upon thee ! Take it 
as thou wilt, and escape it if thou canst. I know, if thy 
heart and life were thoroughly changed, thy relation to 
Christ and eternity would be changed also ; he would then 
acknowledge thee for one of his people, and give thee a 
portion in the inheritance of his chosen. But if thou end 
thy days in thy present condition, as sure as the heavens 
are over thy head, and the earth under thy feet ; as sure as 
thou livest and breathest in this air, so sure shalt thou be 
shut out of this rest of the saints, and receive thy portion in 
everlasting fire. I expect that thou shouldst, in the pride of 
thy heart, turn upon me, and say, And when did God show 
you the book of life, or tell you who they are that shall be 
saved, and who shut out ? 



61 

I will not answer thee according to thy folly : but plainly 
discover this thy folly to thyself, that if there be yet any 
hope, thou may est recover thy understanding, and return to 
God and live : First, I do not name thee nor any other ; I 
only conclude of the unregenerate in general, and of thee 
conditionally, if thou be such a one. Secondly, I do not go 
about to determine who shall repent, and who shall not, 
much less, that thou shalt never repent, and come to Christ. 
These things are unknown to me ; I had far rather show 
thee what hopes thou hast before thee, if thou wilt not sit 
still and lose them : and I would far rather persuade thee 
to hearken in time, before the door is shut against thee, 
that so thy soul may return and live, than tell thee that 
there is no hope of thy repenting and returning. But if the 
foregoing description of the people of God does not agree 
with the state of thy soul ; it is then a hard question, whe- 
ther thou shalt ever be saved ! Even as hard a question as 
whether God be true ! Do I need to ascend up into heaven, 
to know, that u without holiness none shall see God ?" or 
that " only the pure in heart shall see God ?" or that 
" except a man be born again, he cannot enter into the 
kingdom of God ?" Cannot these be known without search- 
ing into God's counsels? And yet dost thou ask me, how I 
know who shall be saved? What need I go up to heaven 
to inquire that of Christ, which he came down to earth to 
tell us? and sent his Spirit in his prophets and apostles to 
tell us? and hath left upon record to all the world? And 
though I do not know the secrets of thy heart, and there- 
fore cannot tell thee by name, whether it be thy state or 
no ; yet if thou art but willing or diligent, thou mayest 
know thyself, whether thou art an heir of heaven, or not. 
And that is the main thing that I desire, that if thou be yet 
miserable, thou mayest discern it, and escape it. But canst 
thou escape, if thou neglect Christ and salvation ? " If thou 
love father, mother, wife, children, houses, lands, or thine 
own life, better than Christ ; if so, thou canst not be his dis- 
ciple." And consequently canst never be saved by him. Is it 
not as impossible for thee to be saved, " except thou be born 
again, 5 ' as it is for the devils themselves to be saved ? Nay, 
God hath more plainly and frequently spoken it in the 
Scripture, that such sinners as thou shalt never be saved, 
than he hath done, that the devils shall never be saved. 
And do not these tidings go cold to thy heart? Methinks, 
but that there is yet life and hope before thee, and thou hast 
yet time and means to have thy soul recovered, the sight of 
thy case should even strike thee dead with amazement. But 
because I would fain have thee, if it be possible, to lay it to 
heart, I will here stay a little longer, and show thee, first, 

6 



62 the saint's everlasting rest. 

the greatness of thy loss ; secondly, the aggravations of thy 
unhappiness in this loss ; thirdly, the positive miseries that 
thou must endure, with their aggravations. 

First, The ungodly, in their loss of heaven, lose all that 
glorious personal perfection, which the people of God there 
enjoy. They lose that shining lustre of the body, surpass- 
ing the brightness of the sun. Though even the bodies of 
the wicked will be raised incorruptible, yet that will be so 
far from being happiness to them, that it only makes them 
capable of the more exquisite torments. They would be 
glad then, if every member were a dead member, that it 
might not feel the punishment inflicted on it ; and the whole 
body were a rotten carcass, or might again lie down in dust 
and darkness. Much more do they want that moral per- 
fection which the blessed partake of; those holy disposi- 
tions ; that blessed conformity to the holiness of God ; that 
cheerful readiness to do his will ; that perfect rectitude of 
all their actions : instead of these, they have their old ulcer- 
ous deformed souls, that perverseness of will, that disorder 
in their facilities, that loathing of good, that love to evil, 
that violence of passion, which they had on earth. It is 
true, their understandings will be much cleared, both by 
the ceasing of temptation and deluding objects, and by the 
sad experience which they will have in hell, of the falsehood 
of their former conceits and delusions. But the evil dispo- 
sition is never the more changed ; they have the same dis- 
position still, and fain would commit the same sins, if they 
could ; they want but opportunity. Certainly they shall 
have none of the glorious perfections of the saints, either in 
soul or body. There will be a greater difference between 
these wretches and the glorified Christians, than there is 
betwixt a toad and the sun in the firmament. 

Secondly, But the great loss of the damned, will be their 
loss of God ; they shall have no comfortable relation to him, 
nor communion with him. As " they did not like to retain 
God in their knowledge ;" but bid him " depart from us, we 
desire not the knowledge of thy ways :" so God will abhor 
to retain them in his household, or to give them entertain- 
ment in his fellowship and glory. He will never admit 
them to the inheritance of his saints, nor endure them to 
stand amongst them in his presence; but bid them "depart 
from me, ye workers of iniquity, I know you not." Now 
these men dare belie the Lord, if not blaspheme, in calling 
him by the title of their Father ; how boldly and confidently 
do they daily approach him with their lips, and indeed 
reproach him in their formal prayers, with that appellation? 
as if God would father the devil's children ; or, as if the 
slighters of Christ, the friends of the world, the haters of 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 63 

godliness, or any that delight in iniquity, were the offspring 
of heaven ! They are ready now to lay confident claims to 
Christ, as if they were sincere believers. But when that 
time is come, and Christ will separate his followers from 
his foes, and his faithful friends from his deceived flatterers, 
where then will be their presumptuous claim ? Then they 
shall find that God is not their father, but their foe, because 
they would not be his people. And as they would not 
consent that God should, by his Spirit, dwell in them, so 
shall not these evil doers dwell with him : The tabernacles 
of wickedness shall have no fellowship with him ; nor the 
wicked inhabit the city of God: " for without are dogs, 
sorcerers, whoremongers, murderers, idolaters, and what- 
soever loveth and maketh a lie." God is first enjoyed in 
part on earth, before he be fully enjoyed in heaven. It is 
only they that walked with him here, who shall live and be 
happy with him there. Oh, little doth the world know 
what a loss that soul hath, who loseth God ! What were 
the world but a dungeon, if it had lost the sun ? What were 
the body but a loathsome carrion, if it, had lost the soul? 
Yet all these are nothing to the loss of God. So that as the 
enjoyment of God is the heaven of the saints ; so the loss of 
God is the hell of the ungodly. And as the enjoying of God 
is the enjoying of all ; so the loss of God is the loss of all. 

Thirdly, As they lose God, so they lose all those delight- 
ful affections and actions, by which the blessed feed on God : 
that transporting knowledge ; those ravishing views of his 
glorious face ; the inconceivable pleasure of loving God ; 
the apprehensions of his infinite love to us ; the constant 
joys which his saints are taken up with ; and the rivers of 
consolation wherewith he doth satisfy them. Is it nothing 
to lose all this ? The employment of a king in ruling a 
kingdom, doth not so far exceed the employment of the 
vilest slave, as this heavenly employment exceedeth his. 

Fourthly, They shall be deprived of the blessed society of 
angels and glorified saints. Instead of being companions of 
those happy spirits, and numbered with those joyful and 
triumphing kings, they must now be members of the corpo- 
ration of hell, where they shall have companions of a far 
different nature. While they lived on earth, they loathed 
the saints ; they imprisoned, banished them, and cast them 
out of their societies, or at least they would not be their 
companions in labour and in sufferings ; and therefore they 
shall not now be their companions in their glory. Now 
you are shut out of that company, from which you first 
shut out yourselves ; and are separated from them whom 
you would not be joined with. You could not endure them 
in your houses, nor in your town, nor scarce in the kingdom ; 



64 the saint's everlasting rest. 

you took them as Ahab did Elias, for the " troublers of the 
land ;" and as the apostles were taken for " men that turned 
the world upside down :" if any thing fell out amiss, you 
thought all was through them. When they were dead, or 
banished, you were glad they were gone; and thought the 
country was well rid of them. They molested you with 
their faithful reproving your sin ; their holy conversation 
troubled you. You scarce ever heard them pray or sing 
praises in their families, but it was a vexation to you ; and 
you envied their liberty of worshipping God. And is it 
then any wonder if you be separated from them hereafter ! 
The day is near when they will trouble you no more : 
betwixt them and you will be a great gulf set, that those 
that would pass from thence to you (if any had a desire to 
ease you with a drop of water) cannot, neither can they 
pass to them, who would go from you. 



CHAPTER II. 

the aggravation of the loss of heaven to the ungodly. 

I know many will be ready to think, if this be all, they 
do not much care. What care they for losing the perfections 
above ? What care they for losing God, his favour, or his 
presence ? They lived merrily without him on earth, and 
why should it be so grievous to be without him hereafter ? 
And what care they for being deprived of that love, and 
joy, and prais ,ng of God ? They never tasted sweetness in 
the things of that nature * or what care they for being 
deprived of the fellowship of angels and saints ? They 
could spare their company in this world well enough, and 
why may they not be without it in the world to come ? To 
make these men therefore understand the truth of their 
future condition, I will here annex these two things : 

1. I will show you why this loss will be intolerable, and 
most tormenting then, though it seem as nothing now. 

2. I will show you what other losses will accompany 
these ; which, though they are less in themselves, yet will 
now be more sensibly apprehended. 

1. Then, that this loss of heaven will be most tormenting, 
may appear by these considerations : 

1. The understandings of the ungodly will be then cleared, 
to know the worth of that which they have lost. Now they 
lament not their loss of God, because they never knew his 
excellency, nor the loss of that holy employment and society, 
for they were never sensible what they were worth. A man 
that hath lost a jewelj and took it but for a common stone 3 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 65 

is never troubled at his loss; but when he comes to know 
what he has lost, then he lamenteth it. 

Though the understandings of the damned will not then 
be sanctified : yet will they be cleared from a multitude of 
errors. They think now that their honour, their estates, 
their pleasures, their health and life, are better worth their 
labour, than the things of another world ; but when these 
things which had their hearts, have left them in misery, 
when they know, by experience, the things which before 
they did but read and hear of, they will be quite in another 
mind. They would not believe xhat water would drown, 
till they were in the sea ; nor that the fire would burn, till 
they were cast into it : but when they feel it, they will 
easily believe. All that error of their mind, which made 
them set light by God, and abhor his worship, and vilify 
his people, will then be removed by experience ; their know- 
ledge shall be increased, that their sorrows may be increased. 
Doubtless those poor souls would be comparatively happy, 
if their understandings were wholly taken from them, if 
they had no more knowledge than idiots, or brute beasts ; 
or if they knew no more in hell, than they did upon earth, 
their loss and misery would then less trouble them. 

How happy would they now think themselves, if they did 
not know there is such a place as heaven? Now, when 
their knowledge would help to prevent their misery, they 
will not know; but then, when their knowledge will but 
feed their consuming fire, they shall know whether they 
will or no. 

2. The loss of heaven will more torment them then, 
because, as the understanding will be clearer, so it will be 
tnore enlarged, and made more capacious, to conceive of 
the worth of that glory which they have lost. The strength 
jf their apprehensions, as well as the truth of them, will 
fihen be increased. What deep apprehensions of the wrath 
-of God, of the madness of sinning, of the misery of sinners, 
nave these souls that now endure this misery, in comparison 
of those on earth that do but hear of it? What sensible 
apprehensions of the worth of life, hath the condemned man 
that is going to be executed, in comparison of what he was 
wont to have in the time of his prosperity ? Much more 
will the actual deprivation of eternal blessedness make the 
damned exceeding apprehensive of the greatness of their 
loss : and as a large vessel will hold more water than a 
shell, so will their more enlarged understandings contain 
more matter to feed their torment, than now their shallow 
capacity can do. 

3. And as the damned will have deeper apprehensions of 
the happiness they have lost, so will they have a closer 

6* 



66 the saint's everlasting rest. 

application of this doctrine to themselves, which will ex- 
ceedingly tend to increase their torment. It will then be 
no hard matter for them to say, this is my loss, and this is 
my everlasting misery. The want of this is the main cause 
why they are now so little troubled at their condition : they 
are hardly brought to believe that there is such a state of 
misery, but more hardly to believe that it is like to be their 
own. This makes so many sermons to be lost, and all 
threatenings and warnings prove in vain. Let a minister 
of Christ show them their misery never so plainly, they 
will not be persuaded that they are so miserable. Let him 
tell them of the glory they must lose, and the sufferings 
they must feel, and they think it is not they whom he means. 
We find in all our preaching, by sad experience, that it is 
one of the hardest things in the world to bring a wicked 
man to know that he is wicked ; a man that is in the way 
to hell, to know that he is in that way; or to make a man 
see himself in a state of wrath and condemnation. How 
seldom do we hear men, after the plainest discovery of their 
condemned state, cry out, " I am the man !" or to acknow- 
ledge, that if they die in their present condition, they are 
undone for ever. 

There is no persuading men of their misery till they feel 
it, except the Spirit of the Almighty persuade them. 

Oh, but when they find themselves suddenly in the land 
of darkness ; perceive, by the execution of the sentence, that 
they were indeed condemned, and feel themselves in the 
scorching flames ; and see that they are shut out of the 
presence of God for ever ; it will then be no such difficult 
matter to convince them of their misery. This particular 
application of Gad's anger to themselves, will then be the 
easiest matter in the world : then they cannot choose but 
know and apply it, whether they will or no. 

4. Again, As the understandings and consciences of sinners 
will be strengthened* so will their affections be more lively 
and enlarged : as judgment will be no longer blinded, nor 
conscience stifled, so the affections will be no longer stupi- 
fled. A hard heart now makes heaven and hell seem but 
trifles: and when we have showed them everlasting glory 
and misery, they are as men half asleep, they scarce take 
notice what we say ; our words are cast as stones against a 
hard wall, which fly back in the face of him that casteth 
them. We talk of terribly astonishing things but it is to* 
dead men that cannot apprehend it: we speak to rocks, 
rather than to men : the earth will as soon tremble as they.. 
But when these dead wretches are revived, what passionate 
sensibility { what working affections ! what pangs of horror \ 
what depth of sorrow will there then be { How violently 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 67 

will they fly in their own faces ! How will they rage against 
their former madness I The lamentations of the most pas- 
sionate wife for the loss of her husband, or of the tenderest 
mother for the loss of her children, will be nothing to theirs 
for the loss of heaven. Oh, the self-accusing and self- 
tormenting fury of those forlorn wretches ! How they will 
even tear their own hearts, and be God's executioners upon 
themselves ! I am persuaded, as it was none but themselves 
that committed the sin, and themselves that were the meri- 
torious cause of their sufferings, so. themselves will be the 
chief executioners of those sufferings ; God will have it so 
for the clearing of his justice ; even Satan himself, as he 
was not so great a cause of their sinning as themselves, so 
will he not be so great an instrument of their torment. How 
happy would you think yourselves then if you were turned 
into rocks, or any thing that had neither passion nor sense I 
How happy were you, if you could now feel as lightly as 
you were wont to hear! And if you could sleep out the 
time of execution, as you did the time of the sermons that 
warned you of it ! But your stupidity is gone, it will not be. 

5. Moreover, it will much increase the torment of the 
damned, that their memories will be as large and strong as 
their understandings and affections. Were their loss never 
so great, and their sense of it never so passionate, yet if 
they could but lose the use of their memory, those passions 
would die, and that loss, being forgotten, would little trouble 
them. But as they cannot lay by their life and being, so 
neither can they lay aside any part of that being. Under- 
standing, conscience, affections, memory, must all live to 
torment them, which should have helped to their happiness. 
And as by these they should have fed upon the love of 
God, and drawn forth perpetually the joys of his presence ; 
so by these must they now feed upon the wrath of God,, 
and draw forth continually the pains of his absence. 

And yet these men would never be brought to consider* 
But in the latter days, saith the Lord, they shall perfectly 
consider it : when they are ensnared in the work of their 
own hands ; when God hath arrested them, and judgment 
is passed upon them, and vengeance is poured out upon 
them, to the full, then they cannot choose but consider it,, 
whether they will or no. Now they have no leisure to 
consider, nor any room in their memories for the things of 
another life. But then, they shall have leisure enough, 
they shall be whers they have nothing else to do ; their 
memories shall have no other employment ; it shall be 
engraven upon the tables of their hearts. God would have- 
had the doctrine of their eternal state to have been written: 
on the posts of their doors* on their houses, on their hands* 



68 the saint's everlasting rest. 

and on their hearts : and seeing they rejected this counse* 
of the Lord, therefore shall it be written always before them 
in the place of their thraldom, that which way soever the> 
look, they may still behold it. 

I will briefly lay down some of those considerations which 
will thus feed the anguish of these damned wretches. 

1. It will torment them to think of the greatness of the 
glory which they have lost. O if it had been that which 
they could have spared, it had been a small matter ; or if it 
had been a loss reparable with any thing else ; if it had been 
health, or wealth, or friends, or life, it had been nothing ; 
but to lose " that exceeding and eternal weight of glory!" 

2. It will torment them to think of the possibility that 
once they were in of obtaining it. Then they will remember, 
the time was, when I was in as fair a possibility of the king- 
dom as others ; I was set upon the stage of the world ; if I 
had played my part wisely and faithfully, now I might have 
had possession of the inheritance; I might have been amongst 
yonder blessed saints, who am now tormented with these 
damned fiends ! The Lord did set before me life and death, 
and having chosen death, I deserve to suffer it. The prize 
was once held out before me ; if I had run well, I might have 
obtained it ; if I had striven, I might have had the mastery ; 
if I had fought valiantly, I had been crowned. 

3. It will j^et more torment them to remember, not only 
the possibility, but the great probability that once they were 
in, to obtain the crown. It will then wound them to think, 
why I had once the gales of the Spirit ready to have assisted 
me. I was fully purposed to have been another man, to 
have cleaved to Christ, and to have forsook the world : I 
was almost resolved to have been wholly for God : I had 
even cast off my old companions, and yet I turned back, 
and lost my hold, and broke my promises, and slacked my 
purposes ; almost God had persuaded me to be a real Chris- 
tian, and yet I conquered those persuasions. What workings 
were in my heart, when a faithful minister pressed home 
the truth ! O how fair was I once for heaven ? I had almost 
had it, and yet I have lost it : if I had but followed on to 
seek the Lord, and blown up the sparks of desire which 
were kindled in me, I had now been blessed among the 
saints. 

4. Yet further, it will much add to their torment to remem- 
ber, that God himself did condescend to entreat them ; how 
long he did wait, how freely he did offer, how lovingly he 
did invite, and how importunately he did solicit them ! how 
the Spirit did continue striving with their hearts, as if he 
were loath to take a denial : how Christ stood knocking at 
the door of their hearts, sermon after sermon 3 and one sab- 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 69 

bath after another, crying out, Open, sinner, open thy heart 
to the Saviour, and " I will come in and sup with thee, and 
thou with me." Why dost thou thus delay ? What dost thou 
mean, that thou dost not open to me ? How long shall it be 
till thou attain to innocency ? " How long shall thy vain 
thoughts lodge within thee?" Wo to thee, O unworthy 
sinner ! Wilt thou not be made clean ? Wilt thou not be 
pardoned, and sanctified, and made happy ? When shall it 
once be? O that thou wouldst hearken to my word, and 
obey my gospel ! " Then should thy peace be as the river, 
and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea : though thy 
sins were as red as crimson, I would make them as white as 
the snow : O that thou were but wise to consider this ! and 
that thou wouldst in time remember thy latter end, before 
the evil days come upon thee, and the years draw nigh, when 
thou shalt say of all thy vain delights, I have no pleasure 
in them !" Why, sinner ! shall thy Maker thus bespeak thee 
in vain? Shall the God of all the world beseech thee to be 
happy, and beseech thee to have pity upon thine own soul, 
and wilt thou not regard him ? Why did he make thy ears, 
but to hear his voice ? Why did he make thy understanding, 
but to consider ? Or thy heart, but to entertain the Son in 
love ? " Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Consider thy ways." 
O how all these passionate pleadings of Christ will pas- 
sionately transport the damned with self indignation ! That 
they will be ready to tear out their own hearts ! How fresh 
will the remembrance of them be still in their minds, lancing 
their souls with renewed torments ! What self-condemning 
pangs will it raise within them, to remember how oft Christ 
would have gathered them to himself, " even as the hen 
gathereth her chickens under her wings, but they would 
not ?" Then will they cry out against themselves, How justly 
is all this befallen me ! Must I tire out the patience of Christ ? 
Must I make the God of heaven to follow me in vain, till I 
had wearied him with crying to me, Repent, return? Must 
the Lord of all the world thus wait upon me, and all in vain ? 
O how justly is that patience now turned into fury, which 
falls upon my soul with irresistible violence ! When the Lord 
cried out to me in his word, " How long will it be before 
thou wilt be made clean and holy ?" my heart, or at least 
my practice, answered, Never ; I will never be so precise : 
And now, when I cry out, " How long will it be till I be 
freed from this torment, and saved with the saints?" how 
justly do I receive the answer, Never, never ! Oh sinner, I 
beseech thee, for thy own sake, think of this while the voice 
of mercy soundeth in thine ears ! Yet patience continueth 
waiting upon thee ; canst thou think it will do so still ? Yet 
the offers of Christ and life are made to thee in the gospel, 



70 the saint's everlasting rest. 

and the hand of God is stretched out to thee ; but will it 
still be thus ? The Spirit hath not yet done striving with" 
thy heart ; but dost thou know how soon he may turn away, 
and give thee over to a reprobate mind ? Thou hast yet life, 
and time, and strength, and means ; but dost thou think that 
this life will always last ? Oh " seek the Lord while he may 
be found, and call upon him while he is near : he that hath 
an ear to hear, let him hear," what Christ now speaketh to 
his soul. And " to-day, while it is called to-day, harden not 
your hearts, lest he swear in his wrath that you shall never 
enter into his rest. 55 For ever blessed is he that hath a hearing 
heart and ear, while Christ hath a calling voice. 

5. Again, It will be a most cutting consideration to these 
to remember on what easy terms they might have escaped 
their misery. If their work had been to remove mountains, 
to conquer kingdoms, then the impossibility would some- 
what assuage the rage of their self-accusing conscience. If 
their conditions for heaven had been the satisfying of justice 
for all their transgressions, the suffering of all the law did 
lay upon them, or bearing the burden which Christ was fain 
to bear ; this were nothing but to suffer hell to escape hell. 
But their conditions were of another nature. The yoke was 
light, and the burden was easy, which Jesus Christ would 
have laid upon them ; his commandments were not grievous. 
It was but to repent, and accept him as their Saviour ; to 
study his will, and seek his face ; to renounce all other hap- 
piness but that which he procureth us, and to take the Lord 
alone for our supreme good; to renounce the government 
of the world and the flesh, and to submit to his meek and 
gracious government; to forsake the ways of our own 
devising, and to walk in his holy delightful way ; to engage 
ourselves to this by covenant with hirn, and to continue 
faithful in that covenant. 

These were the terms on which they might have enjoyed 
the kingdom. And was there any thing unreasonable in all 
this? Was it a hard bargain to have heaven upon these 
conditions ? 

When the poor wretch shall look back upon these easy 
terms which he refused, and compare the labour of them 
with the pains and loss which he there sustaineth, it cannot 
be now conceived how it will rent his very heart ! Ah, 
thinks he, how justly do I suffer all this, who would not be 
at so small pains to avoid it. Where was my understanding 
when I neglected thy gracious offer ; when I called the 
Lord a hard master, and thought his pleasant service to be 
a bondage, and the service of the devil and my flesh to be 
the only freedom ? Was I not a thousand times worse than 
mad, when I censured the holy way of God as needless 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 71 

preciseness ? and cried out on it, as an intolerable burden ? 
When I thought the laws of Christ too strict ; and all too 
much that I did for the life to come ? O, what had all the 
trouble of duty been, in comparison of the trouble I now 
sustain ? or all the sufferings for Christ and well doing, in 
comparison of these sufferings that I must undergo for 
ever? What if 1 had spent my days in the strictest life? 
What if I had lived still upon my knees ? What if I had 
lost my credit with men ? and been hated of all men for the 
sake of Christ ? and borne the reproach of the foolish ? 
What if I had been imprisoned, or banished, or put to death ? 
O, what had all this been to the miseries that I now suffer ! 
Would not the heaven which I have lost, have recompensed 
all my losses? and should not all my sufferings have been 
there forgotten ? What if Christ had bid me do some great 
matter; as to live in continual tears and sorrow, to suffer 
death a hundred times over ; (which yet he did not ;) should 
I not have done it? How much more, when he said, but 
"believe, and be saved: seek my face, and thy soul shall 
live : love me above all, walk in my sweet and holy way, 
take up thy cross and follow me, and I will save thee from 
the wrath of God, and I will give thee everlasting life." O 
gracious offer! O easy terms! O cursed wretch, that would 
not be persuaded to accept them ! 

6. This also will be a most tormenting consideration, to 
remember what they sold their eternal welfare for. When 
they compare the value of the pleasures of sin, with the 
value of the recompense of reward, how will the vast dis- 
proportion astonish them ! To think of a few pleasant cups, 
or sweet morsels, a little ease, or lew delight to the flesh ; 
and then to think of everlasting glory ! What a vast differ- 
ence between them will then appear ! To think, this is all I 
had for my soul, my God, my hopes of blessedness ! It 
cannot possibly be expressed how these thoughts will tear 
his heart. Then will he exclaim against his folly, O misera- 
ble wretch ! Did I set my soul to sale for so base a price? 
Did I part with my God for a little dirt and dross ? and sell 
my Saviour, as Judas, for a little silver? O for how small a 
matter have I parted with my happiness ! I had but a dream 
of delight, for my hopes of heaven : and now I am awaked, 
it is all vanished : where are now my honours and attend- 
ance ? My morsels are now turned to gall, and my cups to 
wormwood. They delighted me no longer than while they 
were passing down : and is this all I have had for the ines- 
timable treasure? O what a mad exchange did I make! 
What if I had gained all the world, and lost my soul ? But, 
alas, how small a part of the world was it, for which I gave 
up my part of giory ! O that sinners would think of this, 



72 the saint's everlasting rest. 

when they are swimming in delights, and studying to be 
rich and honourable ! When they are desperately venturing 
upon known transgression, and sinning against the checks 
of conscience ! 

7. Yet much more will it add unto their torment, when 
they consider that all this was their own doings, and that 
they wilfully procured their own destruction : had they 
been forced to sin, it would much abate the rage of then 
consciences, or if they were punished for another man'? 
transgressions : or if any other had been the chief author of 
their ruin : but to think, that it was the choice of their own 
wills, and that God had set them in so free a condition, that 
none in the world could have forced them to sin against 
their wills, this will be a griping thought. What ! (thinks 
this wretched creature,) had I not enemies enough in the 
world, but I must be an enemy to myself? God would 
give neither the devil, nor the world, so much power over me, 
as to force me to commit the least transgression. If I had 
not consented, their temptations had been in vain ; they could 
but entice me, it was myself that yielded, and did the evil ; 
and I must needs lay hands upon my own soul, and imbrue 
my hands in my own blood. Who should pity me, who 
pitied not myself, and who brought all this upon mine own 
head? Never did God do me any good, or offer me any for 
the welfare of my soul, but I resisted him : he hath heaped 
mercy upon me, and renewed one deliverance after another, 
to entice my heart to him, and yet was I never heartily 
willing to serve him : he hath gently chastised me, and 
made me groan under the fruit of my disobedience, and yet, 
though I promised largely in my affliction, I was never 
unfeignedly willing to obey him. 

Thus will it gnaw the hearts of these wretches, to remem- 
ber that they were the cause of their undoing ; and that they 
wilfully and obstinately persisted in their rebel; on, and were 
mere volunteers in the service of the devil. They would 
venture, they would go on, they would not hear him that 
spoke against it : God called to them to hear and stay, but 
they would not: men called, conscience called, and said to 
them, (as Pilate's wife,) Have nothing to do with that hateful 
sin ; for I have suffered many things because of it : but they 
would not hear ; their will was their law, their rule, and 
their ruin. 

8. Lastly, It will yet make the wound in their consciences 
much deeper, when they shall remember, that it was not 
only their own doing, but that they were at so much cost 
and pains for their *own damnation. What great under- 
takings did they engage in to effect their ruin, to resist God, 
to conquer the Spirit, to overcome the power of mercies, 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 73 

judgments, and the word itself, to silence conscience ? All 
this they did take upon them and perform. What a number 
of sins did they manage at once ! What difficulties did they 
set upon ! Even the conquering the power of reason itself. 
What dangers did they adventure on ! Though they walked 
in continual danger of the wrath of God, and knew he could 
lay them in the dust in a moment ; though they knew they 
lived in danger of eternal perdition, yet would they run upon 
all this. What did they forsake for the service of Satan, and 
the pleasures of sin? They forsook their God, their con- 
science, their best friends, their hopes of salvation. 

Oh the labour that it costeth poor wretches to be damned ! 
Sobriety they might have at a cheaper rate, and a great deal 
of health and ease too ; and yet they will rather have glut- 
tony and drunkenness, with poverty, and shame, and sick- 
ness, with the outcries and lamentations of wife, and children, 
and conscience itself. Contentedness they might have, with 
ease and delight: yet will they rather have covetousness 
and ambition,; though it cost them study, and cares, and 
fears, and labour of body and mind, and continual unquiet- 
ness, and destruction of spirit. Though their anger be 
nothing but a tormenting themselves, and revenge and envy 
consume their spirits, and keep them upon a continual rack ; 
though uncleanness destroy their bodies, and estates, and 
names ; yet will they do and suffer all this, rather than suffer 
their souls to be saved. 

O how the reviews of this will feed the flames in hell ! 
With what rage will these damned wretches curse them- 
selves, and say, Was damnation worth all this cost and pains? 
Was it not enough that I perished through my negligence, 
and that I sat still while Satan played his game, but I 
must seek so diligently my own perdition? Might I not 
have been damned on free cost, but I must purchase it so 
dearly ? I thought I could have been saved without so much 
ado : and could I not have been destroyed without so much 
ado? How well is all my care, and pains, and violence, 
now requited ! Must I work out so laboriously my own 
damnation, when God commanded me to work out my sal- 
vation ? O, if I had done as much for heaven as I did for 
hell, I had surely had it. I cried out of the tedious way of 
godliness ; and yet I could be at more pains for Satan, and 
for death. If I had loved Christ as strongly as I did my 
pleasures, and profits, and honours, and thought on him as 
often, and sought him as painfully, O how happy had I now 
been ! But justly do I suffer the flames of hell, who would 
rather buy them so dear, than have heaven when it was 
purchased to my hands. 

Thus I have showed you some of those thoughts which 
7 



74 the saint's everlasting rest. 

will aggravate the misery of these wretches for ever. that 
God would persuade thee, who readest these words, to take 
up these thoughts now, for the preventing that inconceivable 
calamity, so that thou mayest not take them up in hell as 
thy own tormentor. 



CHAPTER III. 

THEY SHALL LOSE ALL THINGS THAT ARE COMFORTABLE, AS 
WELL AS HEAVEN. 

Having showed you those considerations, which will then 
aggravate their misery, I am next to show you their addi- 
tional losses, which will aggravate it. For as " godliness 
hath the promise both of this life, and that which is to 
come ;" and as God hath said, " That if we first seek his 
kingdom and righteousness, all things else shall be added to 
us ;" so also are the ungodly threatened with the loss both 
of spiritual and of corporal blessings ; and because they 
sought not first Christ's kingdom and righteousness, there- 
fore shall they lose both it, and that which they did seek, 
and there shall be taken from them even that little which 
they have. If they could but have kept their present enjoy- 
ments, they would not have much cared for the loss of 
heaven : but catching at the shadow for the substance, they 
now find they have lost both ; and that when they rejected 
Christ, they rejected all things. If they had lost and for- 
saken all for Christ, they would have found all again in 
him ; for he would have been all in all to them : but now 
they have forsaken Christ for other things, they shall lose 
Christ, and that also for which they did forsake him. 

But I will particularly open to you some of their other 
losses. 

1. They shall lose their present conceit of their interest in 
God, and of his favour toward them, and of their part in the 
merits and sufferings of Christ. This false belief doth now 
support their spirits, and defend them from the terrors that 
would else seize upon them : but what will ease their trouble 
when this is gone ? When they can believe no longer, they 
will be quiet no longer. If a man conceit that he is in safety, 
his conceit may make him cheerful till his misery comes, 
and then both his conceit and comforts vanish. 

There is none of this believing in hell ; nor any persuasion 
of pardon or happiness, nor any boasting of their honesty, 
nor justifying themselves. This was but Satan's strata- 
gem, that, being blindfold, they might follow him the more 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 75 

boldly ; but then he will uncover their eyes, and they shall 
see where they are. 

2. Another addition to the misery of the damned will be 
this : that with the loss of heaven, they shall lose all their 
hopes. In this life, though they were threatened with the 
wrath of God, yet their hope of escaping it did bear up their 
nearts. We can now scarce speak with the vilest drunkard, 
or swearer, or scorner, but he hopes to be saved for all this. 
O happy world ! if salvation were as common as this hope ; 
even those whose hellish nature is written in the face of their 
conversation, whose tongues plead the cause of the devil, and 
speak the language of hell, yet strongly hope for heaven ; 
though the God of heaven hath told them no such shall ever 
come there. Nay, so strong are men's hopes, that they will 
dispute the cause with Christ himself at judgment, and plead 
" their eating and drinking in his presence, their preaching 
in his name, and casting out devils;" (and these are more 
probable arguments than our baptism, and common profes- 
sion and name of Christians ;) they will stiffly deny that ever 
they " neglected Christ in hunger, nakedness, or prison," till 
Christ confute them with the sentence of their condemnation. 
Though the heart of their hopes will be broken at their death ; 
yet, it seems, they would fain plead for such hope at the 
general judgment. 

But, O the sad state of these men, when they must bid 
farewell to all their hopes ! when their hopes shall all perish 
with them ! " The eyes of the wicked shall fail, and their 
hope shall be as the giving up of the ghost." The giving 
up of the ghost is a fit, but terrible, resemblance of a wicked 
man's giving up his hopes. 

For, first, As the soul departeth not from the body without 
the greatest pain, so doth the hope of the wicked depart. O 
the pangs that seize upon the soul of the sinner at death and 
judgment, when he is parting with all his hopes! 

Secondly* The soul departeth from the body suddenly, in 
a moment, which hath there delightfully continued so many 
years ; just so doth the hope of the wicked depart. 

Thirdly, The soul which then departed, will never return 
to live with the body in this world any more ; and the hope 
of the wicked, when it departeth, taketh an everlasting fare- 
well of his soul. A miracle of resurrection shall again conjoin 
the soul and body, but there shall be no such miraculous 
resurrection of the damned's hope. 

Methinks it is the most doleful spectacle that this world 
affords, to see an ungodly person dying; his soul and hopes 
departing together ! With what a sad change he appears in 
another world! Then if a man could but speak with that 
hopeless soul, and ask it, Are you now as confident of sal- 



76 the saint's everlasting rest. 

vation as you were wont to be ? Do you now hope to be 
saved as soon as the most godly ? O what a sad answer 
would he return ! 

that careless sinners would be awakened to think of this 
in time ! If thou be one of them, who art reading these lines, 
I do here, as a friend, advise thee, that as thou wouldst not 
have all thy hopes deceive thee, when thou hast most need, 
thou presently try them, whether they will prove current 
at the touchstone of the Scripture ; and if thou, find them 
unsound, let them go, whatsoever sorrow they cost thee. 
Rest not till thou canst give a reason of all thy hopes ; till 
thou canst prove that they are the hopes which grace, and 
not nature, hath wrought ; that they are grounded upon 
Scripture promises ; that they purify thy heart ; that they 
quicken, and not cool, thy endeavours in godliness; that 
the more thou hopest, the less thou sinnest, and the more 
painful thou art in following on the work, and not grown 
more loose and careless by the increasing of thy hopes; 
that thou art willing to have them tried, and fearful of being 
deceived; that they stir up thy desires of enjoying what 
thou hopest for, and the deferring thereof is the trouble of 
thy heart. 

There is a hope which is a singular grace and duty ; and 
there is a hope which is a notorious, dangerous sin : so con- 
sequently there is a despair which is a grievous sin ; and 
there is a despair which is absolutely necessary to thy 
salvation. 

1 would not have thee despair of the sufficiency of the 
blood of Christ to save thee, if thou believe and heartily 
obey him ; nor of the willingness of God to pardon and 
save thee, if thou be such a one ; nor yet absolutely of thy 
own salvation, because while there is life and time, there is 
hope of thy conversion, and so of thy salvation ; nor would 
I draw thee to despair of finding Christ, if thou do but 
heartily seek him : but this is the despair that I would per- 
suade thee to, as thou lovest thy soul ; that thou despair of 
ever being saved, except thou be born again ; or of seeing 
God, without holiness; or escaping perishing, except thou 
suddenly repent ; or of ever having part in Christ, except 
thou love him above father, mother, or thy own life ; or of 
ever truly loving God, or being his servant, while thou lovest 
the world, and serves t it. 

These things I would have thee despair of, and whatever 
else God hath told thee shall never come to pass. And 
when thou hast sadly searched into thy own heart, and 
findest thyself in any of these cases, I would have thee 
despair of ever being saved in that state thou art in. This 
kind of despair is one of the first steps to heaven. 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 77 

Consider, if a man be quite out of his way, what must be 
the first means to bring him in again ? Why, a despair of 
ever coming to his journey's end In the way that he is in. If 
his home be eastward, and he be going westward, as long as 
he hopes he is in the right, he will go on ; and as long as he 
goes on hoping, he goes further amiss. Therefore when he 
meets with somebody that assures him that he is clean out 
of his way, and brings him to despair of coming home 
except he turn back again ; then he will return, and then he 
may hope. 

Why, sinner, just so it is with thy soul ; thou art out of 
the way to heaven, and in that way thou hast proceeded 
many a year; yet thou goest on quietly, and hopest to be 
saved, because thou art not so bad as many others. Why, I 
tell thee, except thou throw away these hopes, and see that 
thou hast all this while been quite out of the way to heaven : 
I say, till thou be brought to this, thou wilt never return 
and be saved. Who will turn out of his way while he hopes 
he is right? Remember what I say; till thou feel God con- 
vincing thee, that the way which thou hast lived in will 
not serve thy turn, and so break down thy former hopes, 
there is yet no saving work wrought upon thee, how well 
soever thou mayest hope of thyself. Yea, thus much more, 
if any thing keep thy soul out of heaven, there is nothing in 
the world likelier to do it, than thy false hopes of being 
saved, while thou art out of the way to salvation. 

3. Another additional loss, aggravating their loss of hea- 
ven, is this, they shall lose all their carnal mirth ; they will 
say to themselves, (as Solomon doth,) " of their laughter, 
thou art mad; and of their mirth, what didst thou?" Eccles. 
ii, 2. Their pleasant conceits are then ended, and their 
merry tales are all told ; " their mirth was but as the crack- 
ling of thorns under a pot, 3 ' Eccles. vii, 6. It made a blaze 
for a while, but it was presently gone, and will return no 
more. They scorned to entertain any saddening thoughts : 
the talk of death and judgment was irksome to them, because 
it damped their mirth : they could not endure to think of 
their sin or danger, because these thoughts did sad their 
spirits : they knew not what it was to weep for sin, or to 
humble themselves under the mighty hand of God : they 
could laugh away sorrow, and sing away cares, and drive 
away these melancholy thoughts : they thought if they 
should meditate, and pray, and mourn, as the godly do, 
their lives would be a continual misery. 

Alas, poor souls ! What a misery then will that life be, 
where you shall have nothing but sorrow; intense, heart- 
piercing, multiplied sorrow ? When you shall have neither 

the joys of the saints, nor your own former joys ? Do you 

7# 



78 the saint's everlasting rest. 

think there is one merry heart in hell ? or one joyful coun- 
tenance, or jesting tongue? You cry now, " A little mirth 
is worth a great deal of sorrow :" but surely a little godly 
sorrow, which would have ended in eternal joy, had been 
more worth than a great deal of your foolish mirth, which 
will end in sorrow. 

4. Another additional loss will be this : they shall lose all 
their sensual delights ; that which they esteemed their chief 
good, their heaven, their false god, must they lose, as well 
as God himself. 

O what a fall will the proud ambitious man have from 
the top of his honours ! As his dust and bones will not be 
known from the dust and bones of the poorest beggars : so 
neither will his soul be honoured or favoured any more than 
theirs. What a number of the great, noble, and learned, are 
now shut out of the presence of Christ ! They are shut out 
of their well contrived houses, and sumptuous buildings ; 
their comely chambers, with costly hangings ; their soft 
beds, and easy couches. They shall not find their gallant 
walks, their curious gardens, with variety of beauteous fruits 
and flowers ; their rich pastures, and pleasant meadows, 
and plenteous harvest, and flocks, and herds. Their tables 
will not be so spread and furnished, nor they so punctually 
attended and observed. They have not their variety of 
dainty fare, or several courses, to please their appetites to 
the full. The rich man there fareth not deliciously every 
day, neither shall he wear there his purple and fine linen. 

O that sinners would remember this in the midst of their 
jollity, and say to one another, We must shortly reckon for 
this. Will the remembrance of it then be comfortable or 
terrible? Will these delights accompany us to another 
world ? How shall we look each other in the face, if we 
meet in hell? Will not the memorial of them be then our 
torment ? Come, as we have sinned together, let us pray 
together before we stir, that God would pardon us, and let 
us enter into a promise with one another that we will do 
thus no more, but will meet together in the worship of God, 
and help one another toward heaven, as oft as we have met 
for our sinful merriments, in helping to deceive and destroy 
each other. This would be the way to prevent this sorrow, 
and a course that would comfort you, when you look back 
upon it hereafter, 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 79 

CHAPTER IV. 

THE GREATNESS OF THE TORMENTS OF THE DAMNED DISCOVERED. 

' Having thus showed you how great their loss is, who are 
shut out of rest, and how it will be aggravated by those 
additional losses which will accompany it ; I should next 
here show you the greatness of those positive sufferings 
which will accompany this loss. But I will not meddle 
with the quality of those sufferings, but only show their 
greatness in some few discoveries, lest the careless sinner, 
while he hears of no other punishment but that of loss, 
should think he can bear that well enough. That there are, 
besides the loss of happiness, actual, sensible torments for the 
damned, is a matter beyond all doubt ; and that they will be 
exceeding great, may appear by these arguments following: 

1. From the principal author of them, which is God him 
self: as it was no less than God whom the sinners had 
offended, so it is no less than God that will punish them for 
their offences. He hath prepared those torments for his 
enemies. His continued anger will still be devouring them. 
His breath of indignation will kindle the flames. His wrath 
will be an intolerable burden to their souls. If it were but a 
creature that they had to do with, they might better bear it. 
But wo to him that falls under the strokes of the Almighty ! 
They shall feel to their sorrow, " that it is a fearful thing to 
fall into the hands of the living God." It were nothing in 
comparison to this, if all the world were against them, or if 
the strength of all the creatures were united in one to inflict 
their penalty. What a consuming fire is his wrath ! " If it 
be kindled here, and that but a little, 55 how do we wither 
before it, " as the grass that is cut down before the sun !" 
How soon doth our strength decay, and turn to weakness, 
and our beauty to deformity ! The flames do not so easily 
run through the dry stubble, as the wrath of God will feed 
upon these wretches. Oh, they that could not bear a prison, 
or a gibbet, for Christ, scarce a few scorns, how will they 
now bear the devouring fire ! 

2. The place or state of torment is purposely ordained for 
the glorifying God 5 s justice. As all the works of God are 
great and wonderful, so those above all which are specially 
intended for the eminent advancing of some of his attributes. 
When he will glorify his power, he makes the worlds. The 
comely order of all and singular creatures, declares his 
wisdom. His providence is shown in sustaining all things, 
and maintaining order, and attending his excellent ends, 
amongst the confused, perverse, tumultuous agitations of a 



80 the saint's everlasting rest. 

world of wicked, foolish, self-destroying miscreants. When 
a spark of his wrath doth kindle upon the earth, the whole 
world, save only eight persons, are drowned ; Sodom, 
Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, are burned with fire from 
heaven to ashes ; the sea shuts her mouth upon some ; 
the earth doth open and swallow others ; the pestilence 
destroyeth them by thousands. The present deplorable 
state of the Jews may fully testify this to the world. And 
yet the glorifying of the two great, attributes of mercy and 
justice, is intended most eminently for the life to come. As 
therefore when God will purposely glorify his mercy, he 
will do it in a wa)>" that is now beyond the comprehension 
of the saints that must eryoy it ; so that the blood of his 
Son, and the enjoyment of himself immediately in glory, 
shall not be thought too high an honour for them : so also, 
when the time comes that he will purposely manifest his 
justice, it shall appear to be indeed the justice of God. The 
everlasting flames of hell will not be thought too hot for 
the rebellious ; and when they have there burned through 
millions of ages, he will not repent him of the evil which is 
befallen them. Oh, wo to the soul that is thus set up for a 
butt, for the wrath of the Almighty to shoot at ! and for a 
bush, that must burn in the flames of his jealousy, and never 
be consumed ! 

3. Consider who shall be God's executioners of their tor- 
ment : and that is, first, Satan ; secondly, themselves. First, 
He that was here so successful in drawing them from Christ, 
will then be the instrument of their punishment, for yielding 
to his temptations. It was a pitiful sight to see the man 
possessed, that was bound with chains, and lived among 
tombs ; and that other that would be cast into the fire, and 
into the water : but, alas ! that was nothing to the torment 
that Satan puts them to in hell : that is the reward he will 
give them for all their service; for their rejecting the com- 
mands of God, and forsaking Christ, and neglecting their 
souls at his persuasion. Ah, if they had served Christ, as 
faithfully as they did Satan, he would have given them a 
better reward. Secondly, And it is most just also, that they 
should there be their own tormentors, that they may see 
that their whole destruction is of themselves : and they who 
were wilfully the meritorious cause, should also be the 
efficient in their own sufferings; and then who can they 
complain of but themselves ? 

4. Consider also that their torment will be universal, not 
upon one part alone, while the rest are free ; but as all have 
joined in the sin, so must all partake of the torment. The 
soul, as it was the chief in sinning, shall be the chief in suf- 
fering : and as it is of a more spiritual and excellent nature 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 81 

than bodies are, so will its torments far exceed bodily suf- 
ferings. And as the joys of the soul far surpass all sensual 
pleasures, so the pains of the soul surpass corporal pains. 

And it is not only a sou], but a sinful soul, that must 
suffer : the guilt which still remains upon it, will make it fit 
for the wrath of God to work upon. As fire will not burn, 
except the fuel be combustible ; but if the wood be dry, how 
fiercely will it burn then ! The guilt of their sins will be as 
tinder to gunpowder to the damned soul, to make the flames 
of hell take hold upon them with fury. 

And as the soul, so also the body must bear its part. That 
body that must needs be pleased, whatsoever became of its 
eternal safety, shall now be paid for its unlawful pleasures. 
That body which was so carefully looked to, so tenderly 
cherished ; that body which could not endure heat or cold, 
or an ill smell, or a loathsome sight : Oh what must it now 
endure ! How are its haughty looks now taken down ! how 
little will those flames regard its comeliness and beauty ! But 
as death did not regard it, nor the worms regard it, but as 
freely fed upon the face of the proud and lustful dames, 
and the heart of the most ambitious lords and princes, as if 
they had been but beggars ; so will their tormentors then as 
little pity their tenderness, or reverence their lordliness. 
Those eyes which were wont to be delighted with curious 
sights, must then see nothing but what shall amaze and 
terrify them; an angry God above J,hem, and those saints 
whom they scorned, enjoying the glory which they have 
lost ; and about them will be only devils and damned souls. 
Ah! then how sadly will they look back and say, Are ail 
our feasts, our games, and revels come to this ! Then those 
ears which were wont to be delighted with music, shall hear 
the shrieks and cries of their damned companions ; children 
crying out against their parents, that gave them encourage- 
ment and example in evil ; husbands crying out upon their 
wives, and wives upon their husbands ; masters and servants 
cursing each other ; ministers and people, magistrates and 
subjects, charging their misery upon one another, for dis- 
couraging in duty, conniving at sin, and being silent or 
formal when they should have plainly told one another of 
their misery, and forewarned them of their danger. Thus 
will soul and body be companions in calamity. 

5. And the greater by far will their torments be, because 
they shall have no comfort left to mitigate them. In this 
life, when a minister told them of hell, or conscience began 
to trouble their peace, they had comforts enough at hand to 
relieve them : their carnal friends were all ready to comfort 
them ; but now they have not a word of comfort, either for 
him or themselves. Formerly they had their business, their 



82 the saint's everlasting rest. 

company, their mirth, to drive away their fears ; they could 
drink away their sorrows, or play them away, or sleep them 
away, or at least, time did wear them away; but now all 
these remedies are vanished. They had a hard, a presump- 
tuous, unbelieving heart, which was a wall to defend them 
against troubles of mind ; but now their experience hath 
banished these, and left them naked to the fury of those 
flames. Yea, formerly Satan himself was their comforter, 
and would unsay all that the minister said against them, as 
he did to our first mother : " Hath God said, Ye shall not 
eat? Ye shall not surely die." So doth he now : Doth God 
tell you that you shall lie in hell? it is no such matter; God 
is more merciful : he doth but tell you so to fright you from 
sinning : or if there be a hell, what need you fear it? Are 
not you Christians? and shall you not be saved by Christ? 
Was not his blood shed for you ? Ministers may tell you 
what they please ; they would make men believe that they 
shall all be damned except they will fit themselves to their 
humour. Thus as the Spirit of Christ is the comforter of 
the saints, so Satan is the comforter of the wicked : for he 
knows if he should now disquiet them, they would no longer 
serve him : or if fears or doubts should trouble them, they 
would bethink themselves of their danger. Never was a 
thief more careful lest he should awake the people, when he 
is robbing the house, than Satan is, not to awaken a sinner. 
But when the sinner is dead, and he hath his prey, then he 
hath done flattering and comforting them. While the sight 
of sin and misery might have helped to save them, he took 
all the pains he could to hide it from their eyes ; but when 
it is too late, and there is no hope left, he will make them 
see and feel to the utmost. Oh, which way will the forlorn 
sinner then look for comfort ! They that drew him into the 
snare, and promised him safety, now forsake him, and are 
forsaken themselves. His ancient comforts are taken from 
him, and the righteous God, whose forewarning he made 
light of, will now make good his word against him to the 
least tittle. 

6. But the great aggravation of this misery will be its 
eternity. That when a thousand millions of ages are past, 
their torments are as fresh to begin as at the first day. If 
there were any hope of an end, it would ease them to foresee 
it ; but when it must be for ever so, that thought is intolera- 
ble : much more will the misery itself be. They never 
heartily repented of their sin, and God will never repent 
him of their suffering. They broke the laws of the eternal 
God, and therefore shall suffer eternal punishment. They 
knew it was an everlasting kingdom which they refused; 
and therefore what wonder if they be everlastingly shut 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 83 

out of it ? It was their immortal souls that were guilty of 
the trespass, and therefore must immortally suffer the pains 
What happy men would they think themselves, if they 
might have lain still in their graves, or continued dust, or 
suffered no worse than the gnawing of those worms ! Oh 
that they might but there lie down again ! What a mercy 
now would it be to die ! And how will they call and cry 
out for it? O death ! whither art thou gone? Now come 
and cut off this doleful life. O that these pains would break 
my heart, and end my being ! O that I might once die at 
last ! O that I had never had a being ! These groans will the 
thoughts of eternity wring from their hearts. They were 
wont to think the sermon long, and prayer long ; how long 
then will they think these endless torments ? What differ- 
ence is there betwixt the length of their pleasures and of 
their pains ? The one continueth but a moment, the other 
endureth through all eternity. Oh that sinners would lay 
this thought to heart. Remember how time is almost gone. 
Thou art standing all this while at the door of eternity ; and 
death is waiting to open the door, and put thee in. Go sleep 
out but a few more nights, and stir up and down on earth a 
few more days, and then thy nights and days shall end : thy 
thoughts, and cares, and pleasures, and all, shall be devoured 
by eternity: thou must enter upon the state which shall 
never be changed. As the joys of heaven are beyond our 
conceiving, so also are the pains of hell. Everlasting torment 
is inconceivable torment. 

But methinks I perceive the obstinate sinner desperately 
resolving, If I must be damned, there is no remedy ; rather 
than I will live so precisely, 1 will put it to the venture ; I 
shall escape as well as the rest of my neighbours, and we 
will even bear it as well as we can. Alas, poor creature ! 
would thou didst but know what it is that thou dost so boldly 
venture on : I dare say thou wouldst sleep this night but very 
unquietly. Wilt thou leave thyself no room for hope ? Art 
thou such an implacable enemy to Christ, and thy own soul ? 
And dost thou think indeed, that thou canst bear the wrath 
of God, and go away so easily with these eternal torments? 
Yet let me beg this of thee, that before thou dost so flatly 
resolve, thou wouldst lend thine attention to these few 
questions : 

First, Who art thou that thou shouldst bear the wrath of 
God ! Art thou a god ; or art thou a man ? What is thy 
strength to undergo so much ? Is it not as the strength of 
wax or stubble to resist the fire? or as chaff to the wind ? or 
as dust before the whirlwind ? Was he not as stout a man 
as thyself, who cried to God, " Wilt thou break a leaf driven 
to and fro? And wilt thou pursue the dry stubble?" If thy 



84 the saint's everlasting rest. 

strength were as iron, and thy bones as brass, thou couldst 
not bear. If thy foundation were as the earth, and thy 
power as the heavens, yet shouldst thou perish at the breath 
of his indignation. How much more when thou art but a 
little, creeping, breathing clay, kept a few daj 7 s from stink- 
ing, and from being eaten with worms, by the mere support 
and favour of him whom thou thus resistest? 

Secondly, If thou be so strong, and thy heart so stout, 
why do those small sufferings so dismay thee ? If thou have 
but a fit of the gout or stone, what groans dost thou utter? 
The house is filled with thy complaints. If thou shouldst 
but lose a leg or an arm, thou wouldst make a great matter 
of it. If thou lose thine estate, and fall into poverty and 
disgrace ; how heavily wouldst thou bear any one of these? 
And yet all these laid together, will be one day accounted a 
happy state, in comparison of that which is suffered in hell. 
Let me see thee make as light of convulsive, gouty, rheu- 
matic pains, when they seize upon thee, and then the strength 
of thy spirit will appear. Alas, how many such boasters as 
thyself have I seen made to stoop, and eat their words ! And 
when God hath but let out a little of his wrath, that Pharaoh, 
who before asked, "Who is the Lord?" hath cried, "I have 
sinned." 

Thirdly, If all this be nothing, go try thy strength by some 
corporal torment; as Bilney, before he went to the stake, 
would first try his finger in the candle : so do thou ; hold 
thy finger awhile in the fire, and feel there whether thou 
canst endure the fire of hell. Austin mentioned a chaste 
Christian woman, who being tempted to uncleanness by a 
lewd ruffian, she desired him for her sake to hold his finger 
one hour in the fire ; he answered, " It is an unreasonable 
request." " How much more unreasonable is it," said she, 
" that I should burn in hell for the satisfying your lust ?" 
So say I to thee ; if it be an intolerable thing to suffer the 
heat of the fire for a year, or a day, or an hour, what will it 
be to suffer ten thousand times more for ever? What if thou 
wert to suffer Lawrence's death, to be roasted upon a grid- 
iron ; or to be scraped or pricked to death, as other martyrs 
were? If thou could not endure such things as these, how 
wilt thou endure the eternal flames ? 

Fourthly, If thou be so fearless of that eternal misery, 
why is the least foretaste of it so terrible ! Didst thou never 
feel such a thing as a tormenting conscience? If thou hast 
not, thou shalt do. Didst thou never see and speak with a 
man that lived in desperation, or in some degree of these 
wounds of spirit that was near despair ? How uncomforta- 
ble was their conference ! How burdensome their lives ! 
Nothing doth them good which they possess ; the sight of 



the saint s everlasting rest. bo 

friends, or house, or goods, which refresheth others, is a 
trouble to them : they feel no sweetness in meat or drink ; 
they are weary of life, and fearful of death. What is the 
matter with these men ? If the misery of the damned itself 
can be endured, why cannot they more easily endure these 
little sparks ? 

Fifthly, Tell me faithfully, what if thou shouldst but see 
the devil appear to thee in some terrible shape, would it not 
daunt thee? What if thou shouldst meet him in thy way 
home, or he should show himself to thee at night in thy 
bed chamber, would not thy heart fail thee, and thy hair 
stand on end ? I could name thee those that have been as 
confident as thyself, who, by such a sight have been so 
appalled, that they were in danger of being driven out of 
their wits. Or what if some damned soul of thy former 
acquaintance should appear to thee, would not this amaze 
thee? Alas! what is this to the torments of hell? Canst 
thou not endure a shadow to appear before thee? O how 
wilt thou endure to live with them for ever, where thou 
shalt have no other company but devils and the damned ; 
and shalt not only see them, but be tormented with them 
and by them ? 

Lastly, Let me ask thee, if the wrath of God be to be 
made so light of, why did the Son of God himself make so 
great a matter of it? When he had taken upon him the 
payment of our debt, and bore that punishment, we had 
deserved, it makes him sweat water and blood ; it makes' 
the Lord of life to cry, " My soul is heavy, even to the death.'* 5 
It makes him cry out upon the cross, " My God, my God, 
why hast thou forsaken me ?" Surely if any one could have 
borne these sufferings, it would have been Jesus Christ. 
He had another measure of strength to bear it than thou 
hast. 

Wo to poor sinners for their mad security ! Do they think 
to find that tolerable to them which was so'heavy to Christ? 
Nay, the Son of God is cast into a bitter agony, and bloody 
sweat, under the curse of the law only; and yet the feeble, 
foolish creature makes nothing to bear also the curse of the 
gospel. The good Lord bring these men to their right minds 
by repentance, lest they buy their wit at too dear a rate. 

And thus I have shown you somewhat of their misery, 
who miss of this rest prepared for the saints. And now, 
reader, I demand thy resolution, what use thou wilt make 
of all this ? Shall it all be lost to thee r or wilt thou con- 
sider it in good earnest ? Thou hast cast by many a warning 
of God, wilt thou do so by this also? Take heed what thou 
dost, and how thou resolvest. God will not always stand 
warning and threatening. The hand of levenge is lifted up ; 

8 



m THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 

the blow is coming, and wo to him on whom it ligfitetfr, 
Little thinkest thou how near thou standest to thy eternal 
state, and how near the pit thou art dancing in thy jollity, 
If thy eyes were but opened, as they will be shortly, thou 
wouldst see all this that I have spoken before thine eyes, 
without stirring from the place in which thou standest, 
Dost thou throw by the book, and say, It speaks of nothing 
but hell and damnation ? Thus thou usest also to complain 
of the minister ; but wouldst thou not have us tell thee of 
these things? Should we be guilty of the blood of thy soul, 
by keeping silent that which God hath charged us to make 
known ? Wouldst thou perish in ease and silence, and also 
have us to perish with thee, rather than displease thee, by 
speaking the truth t If thou wilt be guilty of such inhuman 
cruelty, God forbid we should be guilty of such sottish folly ! 

There are few preachers so simple, but they know that . 
this kind of preaching is the ready way to be hated of 
their hearers; and the desire of the favour of men is so 
natural, that few delight in such a displeasing way. But I 
beseech thee, consider, are these things true, or are they 
not ? If they were not true, I would heartily join with thee 
against any minister that should offer to preach them, and 
to affright poor people when there is no cause. But if these 
threatenings be the word of God, what a wretch art thou 
that wouldst not hear it, or consider it. Why, what is the 
matter? If thou be sure that thou art one of the people of 
God, this doctrine will be a comfort to thee: but if thou be 
yet unregenerate, methinks thou shouldst be as fearful to 
hear of heaven as of hell, except the bare name of heaven 
or salvation be sufficient. Sure there is no doctrine con- 
cerning heaven in all the Scripture, that can give thee any 
comfort, but upon the supposal of thy conversion ; what 
comfort is it to thee, to hear that there is a rest remaining 
to the people of God, except thou be one of them ? Nay, 
what more terrible, than to read of Christ and salvation for 
others, when thou must be shut out? Therefore, except 
thou wouldst have a minister to preach a lie, it is all one to 
thee, for any comfort thou hast in it, whether he preach of 
heaven or hell to thee. His preaching heaven and mercy to 
thee, can be nothing else but to entreat thee to seek them ; 
but he can make thee no promise of it, but upon condition 
of thy obeying the gospel ; and his preaching hell, is but to 
persuade thee to avoid it. And is not this doctrine fit for 
thee to hear ? Indeed if thou wert quite past hope of escaping 
it, then it were in vain to tell thee of hell, but rather let thee 
take a few merry hours whilst thou mayest; but as long as 
thou art alive, there is hope of thy recovery, and therefore 
all means must be used to awake thee from thy lethargy. 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 87 

O that some son of thunder, who could speak as Paul, till 
the hearers tremble, were now to preach this doctrine to 
thee ! Alas ! as terrible as you think I speak, yet it is not 
the thousandth part of what must be felt; for what heart 
can now conceive, or what tongue express, the pains of 
those souls that are under the wrath of God? Ah, that 
ever blind sinners should wilfully bring themselves to such 
unspeakable misery! You will then be crying to Jesus 
Christ, Oh mercy ! Oh pity ! Why I do now, in the name 
of the Lord Jesus, cry to thee, O have mercy, have pity 
upon thine own soul ! Shall God pity thee, who wilt not be 
entreated to pity thyself? If thy horse see but a pit before 
him, thou canst scarcely force him in ; and wilt thou so 
obstinately cast thyself into hell, when the danger is foretold 
thee ! " O who can stand before the Lord, and who can 
abide the fierceness of his anger I" Methinks thou shouldst 
need no more words, but presently cast away thy sins, and 
deliver up thyself to Christ. Resolve on it immediately, and 
let it be done, that I may see thy face in re&t among the 
saints. The Lord persuade thy heart to it without longer 
delay: but if thou be hardened unto death, and there be no 
remedy, yet do not say another day, but that thou wast 
faithfully warned, and that thou hadst a friend that would 
fain have prevented thy damnation. 



CHAPTER V. 

THE SECOND USE REPREHENDING THE GENERAL NEGHF.CT OF THIS 
REST, AND EXCITING TO DILIGENCE IN SEEKING IT. 

I come now to the second use. If there be so certain and 
glorious a rest, why is there no more seeking after it ! One 
would think that a man that did but once hear of such 
unspeakable glory, and did believe what he heareth to be 
true, should be transported with desire after it, should 
almost forget to eat or drink, and mind and care for nothing 
else, and speak of and inquire after nothing, but how to get 
this treasure ! And yet people who hear it daily, and profess 
to believe it, do as little mind it, or care, or labour for it, as 
if they had never heard of any such thing, or did not believe 
one word that they hear. 

I shall apply this reproof more particularly to four sorts 
of men : First, the worldly minded, who is so taken up in 
seeking the things below, that he hath neither heart nor time 
to seek this rest. 

May I not well say to these men, as Paul to the Galatians 
in another case, Foolish sinners ! " who hath bewitched 
you?" It is not for nothing that divines used to call the 



88 the saint's everlasting rest. 

world a witch : for as in witchcraft, men's lives, senses, 
goods, or cattle, are destroyed by a strange, secret, unseen 
power of the devil, of which a man can give no natural 
reason ; so here, men will destroy their own souls in a way 
quite against their own knowledge. Would not a man 
wonder, that is in his right senses, to see what riding and 
running, what scrambling and catching, there is for a thing 
of nought, while eternal rest lies by neglected ! What con- 
triving and caring, what lighting and bloodshed, to get a 
step higher in the world than their brethren, while they 
neglect the kingly dignity of the saints ! What insatiable 
pursuit of fleshly pleasures, whilst they look upon the praises 
of God, which is the joy of angels, as a burden ! What 
unwearied diligence is there in raising their posterity, 
enlarging their possessions, gathering a little silver or gold ! 
Yea, perhaps for a poor living from hand to mouth, while 
in the meantime their judgment is drawing near; and yet 
how it shall go with them then, or how they shall live eter- 
nally, did never put them to one hour's sober consideration. 

What rising up early, sitting up late, labouring and caring 
year after year, to maintain themselves and children in 
credit till they die ; but what shall follow after, that they 
never think on ; and yet these men cry to us, May not a 
man be saved without so much ado ? How early do they 
rouse up their servants to their labour! [Up, come away to 
work, we have this to do, and that to do ;] but how seldom 
do they call them [Up, you have your soul to look to, you 
have everlasting life to provide for; up to prayer, to the 
reading of the Scripture.] 

What a gadding up and down the world is here, like a 
company of ants upon a hillock, taking incessant pains to 
gather a treasure, which death will spurn abroad, as if it 
were such an excellent thing to die in the midst of wealth 
and honours ! Or as if it would be such a comfort to a man 
in another world, to think that he was a lord, or a knight, 
or a gentleman, or a rich man, on earth ? What hath this 
world done for its lovers and friends, that it is so eagerly 
followed, and painfully sought after, while Christ and hea- 
ven stand by, and few regard them ? Or what will the world 
do for them for the time to come ? The common entrance 
into it is through anguish and sorrow. The passage through 
it is with continual care and labour. The passage out of it 
is with the greatest sharpness and sadness of all. What 
then doth cause men so much to follow and affect it ? O 
unreasonable, bewitched men ! Will mirth and pleasure 
stick close to you? Will gold and worldly glory prove fast 
friends to you in the time of your greatest need ? Will they 
hear your cries in the day of your calamity ? If a man 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 89 

should say to you, as Elias did to Baal's priests, " Cry- 
aloud :" O riches, or honour, now help us ! Will they either 
answer or relieve you ? Will they go along with you to 
another world, and bribe the Judge, and bring you off clear ; 
or purchase you a room among the blessed ? Why then did 
so rich a man want a drop of water to cool his tongue ? Or 
are the sweet morsels of present delight and honour of more 
worth than eternal rest? and will they recompense the loss 
of that enduring treasure? Can there be the least hope of 
any of these ? W T hat then is the matter ? Is it only a room 
for our dead bodies, that we are so much beholden to the 
world for? Why this is the last and longest courtesy that 
we shall receive from it. But we shall have this whether we 
serve it or no ; and even that homely, dusty dwelling, it will 
not afford us always neither ; it shall possess our dust but 
till the resurrection. How then doth the world deserve so 
well at men's hands, that they should part with Christ and 
their salvation, to be its followers ? Ah vile deceitful world! 
how oft have we heard thy faithful lest servants at last com- 
plaining, Oh the world hath deceived me, and undone me! 
And yet succeeding sinners will take no warning. 

So this is the first sort of neglecters of heaven which fall 
under this reproof. 

2. The second sort here to be reproved, are the profane, 
ungodly, presumptuous multitude, who will not be persuad- 
ed to be at so much pains for salvation, as to perform the 
common outward duties of religion. Yea, though they are 
convinced that these duties are commanded, yet will they 
not be brought to the common practice of them. If they 
have the gospel preached in the town where they dwell, it 
may be they will give the hearing to it one part of the day, 
and stay at home the other ; or if the master come to the 
congregation, yet part of his family must stay at home. If 
they want the plain and powerful preaching of the gospel, 
how few are there in a whole town who will travel a mile 
or two to hear abroad, though they will go many miles to 
the market for their bodies. 

And though they know the Scripture is the law of God, 
by which they must be acquitted or condemned in judg- 
ment ; and that it is the property of every blessed man to 
delight in this law, and to meditate in it day and night, yet 
will they not be at the pains to read a chapter once a day, 
nor to acquaint their families with this doctrine of salvation. 
But if they carry a Bible to church, and let it lie by them 
all the week, this is the most use that they make of it. And 
though they are commanded to "pray without ceasing;" 
and to " pray always, and not to faint ;" to " continue in 
prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;" yet will 

8* 



90 the saint's everlasting rest. 

they not pray constantly with their families, or in secret. 
You may hear in their houses two oaths for one prayer. 
Ot* if they do any thing this way, it is usually but a running 
over a few formal words which they have got on their 
tongues' end, as if they came on purpose to make a jest of 
prayer, and to mock God and their own souls. 

Alas t he that only reads in a book that he is miserable, 
and what his soul stands in need of, but never felt himself 
miserable, or felt his several wants, no wonder if he must 
also fetch his prayer from his book only, or at farthest from 
the strength of his memory. Solomon's request to God was, 
that " what prayer or supplication soever should, be made 
by any man, or by all the people, when every man shall 
know his own sore, and his own grief, and shall spread forth 
his hands before God, that God would then hear and for 
give," 2 Chron. vi, 29, 30. If these men did thus know and 
feel every man the sore, and the grief of his own soul, we 
should neither need so much to urge' them to prayer, nor to 
teach them how to perform it. Whereas now they invite 
God to be backward in giving, by their backwardness in 
asking ; and to be weary of relieving them, by their own 
being weary of begging ; and to be seldom and short in his 
favours, as they are in their prayers ; and to give them but 
common and outward favours, as they put up but common 
and outside requests. Yea, their cold and heartless prayers 
invite God to a -flat denial : for among men it is taken for 
granted, that he who asks but slightly and seldom, cares 
not much for what he asks. Do not these men judge them- 
selves unworthy of heaven, who think it not worth their 
more constant and earnest requests? If it be not worth 
asking for, it is worth nothing. And yet if one should go 
from house to house, through town and parish, and inquire 
at every house as you go, whether they do morning and 
evening call their family together, and earnestly seek the 
Lord in prayer; how few would you find that constantly 
and conscientiously practise this duty ? If every door were 
marked where they do not thus call upon the name of God, 
that his wrath might be poured out upon that family, our 
towns would be as places overthrown by the plague, the 
people being dead within, and the mark of judgment with- 
out. I fear where one house would escape, ten would be 
marked out for death ; then they might teach their doors to 
pray, Lord have mercy upon us ; because the people would 
not pray themselves. But especially if you could see what 
men do in their secret chambers, how few should you find 
in a whole town that spend one quarter of an hour, morning 
and night, in earnest supplication to God for their souls? 
Oh how little do these men set by eternal rest ! 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 91 

Thus do they slothfully neglect all endeavours for their 
own welfare, except some public duty in the congregation, 
which custom or credit doth engage them to. Persuade 
them to read good books, and they will not be at so much 
pains. Persuade them to learn the grounds of religion in 
some catechism, and they think it toilsome slavery, fit for 
school boys. Persuade them to sanctify the Lord's day, 
and to spend it wholly in hearing the word, and repeating it 
with their families, and prayer and meditation, and to forbear 
all their worldly thoughts and speeches ; and what a tedious 
life do they take this to be ; and how long may you preach 
to them, before they will be brought to it ? As if they thought 
heaven were not worth all this ado. 

3. The third sort that fall under this reproof, are those 
self-cozening, formal, lazy professors of religion, who will 
be brought to any outward duty, but to the inward work 
they will never be persuaded. They will preach, or hear, 
or read, or talk of heaven, or pray customarily or constantly 
in their families, and take part with the persons and causes 
that are good ; and desire to be esteemed among the godly ; 
but you can never bring them to the more spiritual duties : 
as to be constant and fervent in secret prayer; to be con- 
scientious in the duty of self-examination, to be constant in 
meditation, to be heavenly minded, to watch constantly 
over their heart, and words, and ways, to deny their bodily 
senses and their delights, to mortify the flesh, and not make 
provision for it, to fulfil its lusts ; to love and heartily forgive 
an enemy, and to prefer their brethren heartily before them- 
selves. The outside hypocrites will never be persuaded to 
any of these. Above all other, two sorts there are of these 
hypocrites : — 

1. The superficial opinionative hypocrite. 

2. The worldly hypocrite. 

The former entertaineth the doctrine of the gospel with 
joy ; but it is only in the surface of his soul ; he never gives 
the seed any depth of earth. He changeth his opinion, and 
thereupon engageth for religion, as the right way, but it 
never melted and new moulded his heart, nor set up Christ 
there in full power and authority : as his religion is but 
opinion, so is his study, and conference, and chief business, 
all about opinion. He is usually an ignorant, proud, bold 
inquirer and babbler about controversies, rather than an 
humble embracer of the known truth, with love and sub- 
jection. You may conjecture, by his bold and forward 
tongue, and conceitedness in his own opinions, and slight- 
ing the judgments and persons of others, and seldom talking 
of the great things of Christ with seriousness and humility, 
that his religion dwelleth in the brain, and not in his heart; 



93 the saint's everlasting rest. 

where the wind of temptation assaults him, he easily yield- 
eth, and it carrieth him away as a feather, because his heart 
is empty, and not balanced and established with Christ and 
grace. If this man's judgment lead him in the ceremonious 
way, then doth he employ his chief zeal for ceremonies. If 
his judgment be against ceremonies, then his strongest zeal 
is employed in studying, talking, disputing against them, 
and censuring the users of them. For, not having the 
essentials of Christianity, he hath only the mint and cum- 
min, the smaller matters of the law, to lay out his zeal upon. 
You shall never hear any humble and hearty bewailings of 
his soul's imperfections, or any heart bleeding acknowledg- 
ments of his unkindnesses to Christ, of any pantings and 
longings after him, from this man ; but that he is of such a 
judgment, or such a religion, or society, or a member of 
such a church : herein doth he gather his greatest comforts ; 
but the inward and spiritual labours of a Christian he will 
not be brought to. 

The like may be said of the worldly hypocrite, who 
choketh the doctrine of the gospel with the thorns of 
worldly cares and desires. His judgment is convinced that 
he must be religious, or he cannot be saved ; and therefore 
he reads, and hears, and prays, and forsakes his former 
company and courses ; but because his belief of the gospel 
doctrine is but wavering and shallow, he resolves to keep 
his hold of present things ; and yet to be religious, that so 
he may have heaven when he can keep the world no longer. 
This man's judgment may say, God is the chief good, but 
his heart and affections never said so, but looked upon 
God as to be tolerated rather than the flames of hell, but 
not desired before the felicity on earth. In a word, the 
world hath more of his affections than God, and therefore 
is his god. This he might easily know and feel, if he 
would judge impartially, and were but faithful to himself. 
And though this man does not gad after novelties in religion 
as the former, yet will he set his sails to the wind of worldly 
advantage. And as a man whose spirits are seized on by 
some pestilential malignity, is feeble, and faint, and heart- 
less in all that he does ; so this man's spirits being possessed 
by the plague of this malignant, worldly disposition, how 
faint is he in secret prayer ! how superficial in examination 
and meditation ! how feeble in heart watchings, and hum- 
bling, mortifying endeavours ! how nothing at all in loving 
and walking with God, rejoicing in him, or desiring him! 
So that both these, and many other sorts of lazy hypocrites 
there are, who, though they will trudge on with you in the 
easy outside of religion, yet will never be at the pains q( 
inward and spiritual duties, 



THE SAINT S EVERLASTING REST. V6 

4. And even good men themselves deserve this reproof, 
for being too lazy seekers of everlasting rest. Alas, what a 
disproportion is there between our light and our heat! our 
professions and prosecutions ! Who makes that haste, as if 
it were for heaven ? How still we stand ! How idly we 
work ! How we talk, and jest, and trifle away our time ' 
How deceitfully we do the work of God ! How we hear, as 
if we heard not ; and pray, as if we prayed not; and confer, 
and examine, and meditate, and reprove sin, as if we did it 
not ; and used the ordinances, as if we used them not ; and 
enjoy Christ, as if we enjoyed him not ; as if we had learned 
to use the things of heaven, as the apostle teacheth us to use 
the world ! Who would think that stood by us, and heard 
us pray in private or public, that we were praying for no 
less than everlasting glory ? Should heaven be sought no 
more earnestly than thus ? Methinks we are none of us all 
in good sadness for our souls. We do but dally with the 
work of God, and play with Christ, as children play with 
their meat when they should eat it ; we hang upon ordi- 
nances from day to day, but we stir not ourselves to seek 
the Lord. 

I see a great many very constant in hearing and praying, 
but they do not hear and pray as if it were for their lives. 
Oh, what a frozen stupidity hath benumbed us ! The plague 
of Lot's wife is upon us, as if we were changed into lifeless 
and immovable pillars ; we are dying, and we know it, and 
yet we stir not ! we are at the door of eternal happiness or 
misery, and yet we perceive it not : death knocks, and we 
hear it not: Christ calls and knocks, and we hear not: God 
cries to ua, " To-day, if you will hpar my voice, harden not 
your hearts. Work while it is day, for the night cometh 
when none can work." Now ply your business, now labour 
for your lives; now lay out all your strength. Now or 
never; and yet we stir no more than if we were half asleep. 
What haste do death and judgment make! How fast do 
they come on! They are almost at us, and yet what little 
haste make we ! The spur of God is in our side ; we bleed, 
we groan, and yet we do not mend our pace. Lord, what a 
senseless, sottish, earthly, hellish thing, is a hard heart! 
That we will not go roundly and cheerfully toward heaven 
without all this ado ! No, nor with it neither ! Where is the 
man that is serious in his Christianity ? Methinks men every 
where make but a trifle of their eternal state. They look 
after it but a little by the by ; they do not make it the task 
and business of their lives. 

To be plain with you, I think nothing undoes men so 
much as complimenting and jesting in religion. Oh, if I 
were not sick myself of the same disease, with what tears 



94 the saint's everlasting rest. 

would I mix this ink ; and with what groans should I 
express these sad complaints ; and with what heart's grief 
should I mourn over this universal deadness ! Do the 
magistrates among us seriously perform their portion of 
the work ? are they zealous for God ? do they build up his 
house? are they tender of his honour? do they second the 
word? encourage the good? relieve the oppressed? com- 
passionate the distressed ? and fly at the face of sin and 
sinners, as being the disturbers of our peace, and the only 
cause of all our miseries? Do they study how to do the 
utmost they can for God? to improve their power, and 
parts, and wealth, and honour, and all their interest for 
their greatest advantage to the kingdom of Christ, as men 
that must shortly give an account of their stewardship ? or 
do they build their own houses, and seek their advance- 
ments, and contest for their own honours, and do no more 
for Christ than needs they must, or than lies in their way, 
or than is put by others into their hands, or than stands 
with the pleasing of their friends, or with their worldly 
interest? 

And how thin are those ministers that are serious in their 
work ! Nay, how mightily do the very best fail in this ! Do 
we cry out of men's disobedience to the gospel, in the evi- 
dence and power of the Spirit, and deal with sin, as that 
which is the fire in our towns and houses, and by force pull 
men out of this fire ? Do we persuade our people, as those 
that know the terrors of the Lord should do ? Do we press 
Christ, and regeneration, and faith, and holiness, as men 
that believe indeed, that without these they shall never 
have life ? Do our bowels yearn over the ignorant, and the 
careless, and ihc obstinate multitude, as men that believe 
their own doctrine ? When we look them in the face, do 
our hearts melt over them, lest we should never see their 
faces in rest? Do we, as Paul, tell them weeping, of their 
fleshly and earthly disposition ? and teach them publicly, 
and from house to house, night and day with tears ? And 
do we entreat them, as if it were indeed for their lives ! that 
when we speak of the joys and miseries of another world, 
our people may see us aifected accordingly, and perceive 
that we mean as we speak ? Or rather, do we not study 
words ? As if a minister's business were but to tell them a 
smooth tale of an hour long, and so look no more after them 
till the next sermon. 

Oh the formal, frozen, lifeless sermons which we daily 
hear preached upon the most weighty, piercing subjects in 
the world! How gently do we handle those sins, which 
will handle so cruelly our people's souls ! And how tenderly 
do we deal with their careless hearts, not speaking to them 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 95 

as men that must be awakened or damned ! We tell them 
of heaven and hell in such a sleepy tone, and slight way, as 
if we were but acting a part in a play ; so that we usually 
preach our people asleep with those subjects, which one 
would think should rather endanger the driving some beside 
themselves. 

In a word, our want of seriousness about the things of 
heaven, doth charm the souls of men into formality, and 
hath brought them to this customary, careless hearing, 
which undoes them. The Lord pardon the great sin of the 
ministry in this thing, and in particular my own. 

And are the people any more serious than magistrates 
and ministers? How can it be expected ? Reader, look but 
to thyself, and resolve the question. Ask conscience, and 
suffer it to tell thee truly. Hast thou set thine eternal rest 
before thine eyes, as the great business which thou hast to 
do in this world ? Hast thou studied, and cared, and watched, 
and laboured with all thy 'might, lest any should take thy 
crown from thee ? Hast thou made haste, lest thou shouldst 
come too late, and die before the work be done ? Hath thy 
heart been set upon it, and thy desires and thoughts run out 
this way ? Hast thou pressed on through crowds of opposi- 
tion " toward the mark, for the prize of the high calling of 
God in Christ Jesus ?" When you have set your hand to 
the work of God, have you done it with all your might ? 
Can conscience witness your secret cries, and groans, and 
tears? Can your families witness that you have taught 
them the fear of the Lord, and warned them all with earn- 
estness and unweariedness to remember God and their souls? 
Or that you have done but as much for them, as that damned 
glutton would have had Lazarus do for his brethren on earth, 
to warn them that they come not to that place of torment! 
Can your ministers witness that they have heard you cry 
out, " What shall we do to be saved ?" And that you have 
followed them with complaints against your corruptions, 
and with earnest inquiries after the Lord ? Can your neigh- 
bours about you witness, that you are still learning of them 
that are able to instruct you ? And that you plainly and 
roundly reprove the ungodly, and take pains for the saving 
of your brethren's souls ? Let all these witnesses judge this 
day between God and you, whether you are in good earnest 
about eternal rest. 

But if yet you cannot discern your neglects, look but to 
yourselves : within you, without you, to the work you have 
done. You can tell by his work whether your servant hath 
loitered, though you did not see him : so you may by your- 
selves. Is your love to Christ, your faith, your zeal, and 
other graces, strong or weak ? What are your joys ? What 



96 the saint's everlasting rest. 

is your assurance? Is all right, and strong, and in order 
within you ? Are you ready to die, if this should be the 
day ? Do the souls among whom you have conversed, bless 
you? Why, judge by this, and it will quickly apo ear whe- 
ther you have been labourers or loiterers. 



CHAPTER VI. 

AN EXHORTATION TO SERIOUSNESS IN SEEKING REST. 

I hope, reader, by this time thou art somewhat sensible 
what a desperate thing it is to trifle about eternal rest ; and 
how deeply thou hast been guilty of this thyself. And 1 
hope also, that thou darest not now suffer this conviction 
to die ; but art resolved to be another man for the time to 
come. What sayest thou ? Is this thy resolution ? If thou 
wert sick of some desperate disease, and the physician should 
tell thee, If you will observe but one thing, I doubt not to 
cure you : wouldst thou not observe it ? Why, if thou wilt 
observe but this one thing for thy soul, I "make no doubt ot 
thy salvation; if thou wilt now but shake off thy sloth, and 
put to all thy strength, and be a downright Christian, I 
know not what can hinder thy happiness. As far as thou 
art gone from God, if thou now return and seek him with 
thy whole heart, no doubt but thou shalt find him. As 
unkindly as thou hast dealt with Jesus Christ, if thou didst 
but feel thyself sick and dead, and seek him heartily, and 
apply thyself in good earnest to the obedience of his laws, 
thy salvation were as sure as if thou hadst it already; but 
as full as the satisfaction of Christ is, as free as the promise 
is, as large as the mercy of God is ; yet if thou do but look 
on these, and talk of them, when thou shouldst greedily 
entertain them, thou wilt be never the better for them : and 
if thou shouldst loiter when thou shouldst labour, thou wilt 
lose the crown. O fall to work then speedily and seriously, 
and bless God that thou hast yet time to do it ; and though 
that which is past cannot be recalled, yet redeem the time 
now by doubling thy diligence. 

And because thou shalt see I urge thee not without cause, 
I will here adjoin a multitude of considerations to move 
thee: their intent and use is, to drive thee from delaying, 
and from loitering in seeking rest. Whoever thou art, 
therefore, I entreat thee to rouse up thy spirit, and give me 
awhile thy attention, and (as Moses said to the people) " set 
thy heart to all the words that I testify to thee this day ; for 
it is not a vain thing, but it is for thy life." Weigh what I 
here write, with the judgment of a man ; and the Lord open 
thy heart, and fasten his counsel effectually upon thee. 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 97 

h Consider our affections and actions should be answer- 
able to the greatness of the ends to which they are intended. 
Now the ends of a Christian's desires and endeavours are 
so great, that no human understanding on earth can com- 
prehend them ; whether you respect their proper excellency, 
their exceeding importance, or their absolute necessity. 

These ends are, the glorifying of God, the salvation of 
our own and other men's souls, in escaping the torments of 
hell, and possessing the glory of heaven. And can a man be 
too much affected with things of such moment? Can he 
desire them too earnestly, or love them too violently, or 
labour for them too diligently ? When we know that if our 
prayers prevail not, and our labour succeeds not, we are 
undone for ever, I think it concerns us to seek and labour to 
the purpose. When it is put to the question, whether we 
shall live for ever in heaven or in hell ; and the question 
must be resolved upon our obeying the gospel, or disobeying 
it, upon the painfulness or the slothfulness of our present 
endeavours ; I think it is time for us to bestir ourselves, and 
to leave our trifling and complimenting with God. 

2. Consider, our diligence should be answerable to the 
greatness of the work which we have to do, as well as to 
the ends of it. 

Now, the works of a Christian here are very many, and 
very great: the soul must be renewed; many and great 
corruptions mortified ; custom, temptations, and worldly 
interest must be conquered ; flesh must be mastered ; life, and 
friends, and credit, and all must be slighted ; conscience must 
be upon good grounds quieted ; assurance of pardon and 
salvation must be attained. And though it is God that must 
give us these, and that freely, without our own merits ; yet 
will he not give them without our earnest seeking and labour. 

Besides, there is a deal of knowledge to be got, for the 
guiding ourselves, for defending the truth, for the direction 
of others, and a deal of skill for the right managing of our 
parts : many ordinances are to be used, and duties to be 
performed, ordinary and extraordinary ; every age, and year, 
and day, doth require fresh succession of duty; every place 
we come in, every person we have to deal with, every change 
of our condition, doth still require the renewing our labour, 
and bringeth duty along with it: wives, children, servants, 
neighbours, friends, enemies, all of them call for duty from 
us : and all this of great importance too ; so that for the 
most, if we miscarry in it, it would prove our undoing. 

Judge then yourselves, whether men that have so much 
business lying upon their hands should not bestir them ? 
And whether it be their wisdom either to delay or to loiter.' 

3. Consider, our diligence should be quickened, because 

9 



98 the saint's everlasting rest. 

of the shortness and uncertainty of the time allotted us for 
the performing of all this work, and the many and great 
impediments which we meet with. Yet a few days and we 
shall be here no more. Time passeth on : many diseases 
are ready to assault us ; we that now are preaching, and 
hearing, and talking, and walking, must very shortly be 
carried, and laid in the dust, and there left to the worms in 
darkness and corruption ; we are almost there already ; it 
is but a few days, or months, or years, and what is that 
when once they are past ? We know not whether we shall 
have another sermon, or sabbath, or hour. How then should 
those bestir them for their everlasting rest, who know they 
have so short a space for so great a work ? Besides, every 
step in the way hath its difficulties : " the gate is strait, and 
the way narrow : the righteous themselves are scarcely 
saved." Scandals and discouragements will be still cast 
before us ; and can all these be overcome by slothful en- 
deavours ? 

4. Moreover, our diligence should be answerable to the 
diligence of our enemies in seeking our destruction. For if 
we sit still while they are plotting and labouring; or if we 
be lazy in our defence, while they are diligent in assaulting 
us, you may easily conceive how we are likely to speed. 
How diligent is Satan in all kinds of temptations ! There- 
fore " be sober and vigilant, because your adversary, the 
devil, as a roaring lion walketh about, seeking whom he 
may devour. 33 How diligent are all the ministers of Satan ! 
False teachers, scorners at godliness, malicious persecutors, 
all unwearied ; and our inward corruption, the most busy 
and diligent of all : whatever we are about, it is still resisting 
us; depraving our duties, perverting our thoughts, dulling 
our affections to good, exciting them to evil : and will a feeble 
resistance serve our turn ? Should we not be more active 
for our own preservation, than our enemies for our ruin ? 

5. Our affections and endeavours should bear some pro- 
portion with t\e talents we have received, and means we 
have enjoyed. 

It may well be expected that a horseman should go faster 
than a footman : and he that hath a swift horse, faster than 
he that hath a slow one. More work will be expected from 
a sound man, than from the sick ; and from a man at age, 
than from a child ; and to whom men commit much, from 
them they will expect the more. 

Now the talents which we have received are many and 
great : the means which we have enjoyed are very many, 
and very precious. What people breathing on earth, have 
had plainer instructions, or more forcible persuasions, or 
constant admonitions, in season and out of season ? Sermons, 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 99 

till we have been weary of them : and sabbaths till we pro- 
faned them ! Excellent books in such plenty, that we knew 
not which to read I What people have had God so near 
them as we have had ? Or have seen Christ, as it were, 
crucified before their eyes, as we have done ? What people 
have had heaven and hell, as it were, opened unto them as 
we ? Scarce a day wherein we have not had some spur to 
put us on. What speed then should such a people make for 
heaven ? How should they fly that are thus winged? And 
how swiftly should they sail that have wind and tide to help 
them? Believe it, brethren, God looks for more from Eng- 
land, than from most nations in the world: and for more 
from you that enjoy these helps, than from the dark untaught 
congregations of the land. A small measure of grace beseems 
not such a people ; nor will an ordinary diligence in the work 
of God excuse them ! 

6. The vigour of our affections and actions should be 
answerable to the great cost bestowed upon us, and to tha 
deep engaging mercies which we have received from God. 
Surely we owe more service to our master from whom we 
have our maintenance, than we do to a stranger to whom 
we were never beholden. 

O the cost that God hath been at for our sakes! The 
riches of sea and land, of heaven and earth, hath he poured 
out unto us. All our lives have been filled up with mercies : 
we cannot look back upon one hour of it, or passage in it, 
but we may behold mercy. We feed upon mercy, we wear 
mercy upon our backs, we tread upon mercy ; mercy within 
us, mercy without us for this life, and for that to come. O 
the rare deliverances that we have partaken of, both national 
and personal ! How oft, how seasonably, how fully have 
our prayers been heard, and our fears removed! What 
large catalogues of particular mercies can every Christian 
rehearse! To offer to number them would be as endless a 
task as to number the stars, or the sands of the shore. 

If there be any difference betwixt hell (where we should 
have been) and earth, (where we now are,) yea, or heaven, 
(which is offered to us,) then certainly we have received 
mercy : yea, if the blood of the Son of God be mercy, then 
are we engaged to God by mercy ; for so much did it cost 
him to recover us to himself. And should a people of such 
deep engagements be lazy in their returns? Shall God think 
nothing too much nor too good for us ; and shall we think 
all too much that we do for him ? Thou that art an observ- 
ing sensible man, who knowest how much thou art beholden 
to God, I appeal to thee, Is not a loitering performance of a 
few heartless duties, an unworthy requital of such admirable 
kindness? For my own part, when I compare my slow and 



100 THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 

unprofitable life, with the frequent and wonderful mercies 
received, it shames me, it silenceth me, and leaves me inex- 
cusable. 

7. Consider, all the relations which we stand in toward 
God, call upon us for our utmost diligence. Should not the 
pot be wholly at the service of the potter, and the creature 
at the service of his Creator? Are we his children, and do 
wc not owe him our most tender affections, and dutiful 
obedience ? Are we the spouse of Christ, and do we not 
owe him our observance, and our love ? " If he be our 
father, where is his honour ? and if he be our master, where 
is his fear ? We call him Lord and Master, and we do well :" 
but if our industry be not answerable to our relations, we 
condemn ourselves in saying, we are his children, or his 
servants. How will the hard labour and daily toil that 
servants undergo to please their masters, judge and condemn 
those men who will not labour so hard for their great master ? 
Surely there is none have a more honourable master than 
we, nor can expect such fruit of their labours. 

8. How close should they ply their work, who have such 
attendants as w r e have ! All the world are our servants, that 
we may be the servants of God. The sun, and moon, and 
stars, attend us with their light and influence : the earth, with 
all its furniture, is at our service : how many thousand plants, 
and flowers, and fruits, and birds, and beasts, do all attend 
us? The sea with its inhabitants, the air, the wind, the 
frost and snow, the heat and fire, the clouds and rain, all 
wait upon us while we do our work: yea, " the angels are 
ministering spirits for us. 55 And is it not an intolerable 
crime for us to trifle, while all these are employed to assist 
us? Nay, more ; the patience of God doth wait upon us: 
the Lord Jesus Christ waiteth in the offers of his blood; the 
Holy Spirit waiteth, in striving with our backward hearts: 
besides, all his servants, the ministers of his gospel, who 
study and wait, and preach and wait, and pray and wait 
upon careless sinners : and shall angels and men, yea the 
Lord himself, stand by and look on, while thou dost nothing ? 

O Christians, I beseech you, whenever you are on your 
knees in prayer, or reproving the transgressors, or exhorting 
the obstinate, or upon any duty, do but remember what 
attendants you have" for this work : and then judge how it 
behooves you to perform it. 

9. How forward and painful should we be in that work, 
where we are sure we can never do enough ? If there were 
any danger in overdoing, then it might well cause men to 
moderate their endeavours : but we know " that if we could 
do all, we were but unprofitable servants :" much more when 
we fail in all. 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 101 

It is true, a man may possibly preach too much, or hear 
too much, (though I have known few that did so,) but yet 
no man can obey or serve God too much. One duty may 
be said to be too long, when it shuts out another ; and then 
it ceaseth indeed to be a duty. And all superstition, or 
worship of our own devising, maybe called a righteousness 
over much ; yet as long as you keep your service to the 
mle of the word, you never need to fear " being righteous 
over much :" for else we should reproach the Lord and 
Lawgiver of the church, as if he commanded us to do too 
much. 

If the world were not mad with malice, they could never 
be so blind in this point as they are : to think that diligence 
for Christ, is folly and singularity : and that they who set 
themselves wholly to seek eternal life, are but precise puri- 
tans ! The time is near, when they will easily confess, that 
God could not be loved or served too much, and that no 
man can be too busy to save his soul. For the world you may 
easily do too much, but herein (in God's way) you cannot. 

10. Consider, they that trifle in the way to heaven, lose 
all their labour. If two be running in a race, he that runs 
slowest had as good never run at all : for he loseth the prize 
and his labour both. Many, who like Agrippa, are but 
" almost Christians," will find in the end they shall be but 
almost saved. God hath set the rate at which the pearl 
must be bought : if you bid a penny less, you had as good 
bid nothing. As a man that is lifting up some weighty 
thing, if he put to almost strength enough, it is as good he 
put to none at all, for he doth but lose all his labour. 

O how many professors of Christianity will find this true 
to their sorrow, who have had a mind to the ways of God, 
and have kept up a dull task of duty, but never came to 
serious Christianity ! How many a duty have they lost, for 
want of doing them thoroughly ! " Many shall seek to 
enter in, and not be able ;" who, if they had striven, might 
have been able. O therefore put to a little more diligence 
and strength, that all be not in vain that you have done 
already ! 

11. Furthermore, we have lost a great deal of time already, 
and therefore it is reason that we labour so much the harder. 
If a traveller sleep, or trifle out most of the day, he must 
travel so much the faster in the evening, or fall short of his 
journey's end. With some of us, our childhood and youth 
are gone ; with some also their middle age ; and the time 
before us is very uncertain. "What a deal of time have we 
slept away, and talked away, and played away? What a 
deal have we spent in worldly thoughts and labours, or in 
mere idleness ? Though in likelihood the most of our time 

9* 



102 the saint's everlasting rest. 

is spent, yet how little of our work is done ? And is it not 
time to bestir ourselves in the evening of our days ? The 
time which we have lost can never be recalled ; should we 
not then redeem it by improving the little which remaineth ? 
You may receive indeed an " equal recompense with those 
that have borne the burden and heat of the day, though you 
came not till the last hour ;" but then you must be sure to 
labour diligently that hour. It is enough sure that we have 
lost so much of our lives. Let us not now be so foolish as 
to lose the rest. 

12. Consider, the greater are your layings out the greater 
will be your comings in. Though you may seem to lose 
your labour at the present, yet the hour cometh when you 
shall find it with advantage. The seed which is buried and 
dead, will bring forth a plentiful increase at the harvest. 
Whatever you do, and whatever you suffer, everlasting rest 
will pay for all. There is no repenting of labours and 
sufferings in heaven : none says, " Would I had spared my 
pains and prayed less, or been less strict, and did as the rest 
of my neighbours did :" there is never such a thought in 
heaven as these. But on the contrary, it will be their joy 
to look back upon their labours, and consider how the mighty 
power of God did bring them through all. Whoever com- 
plained that he came to heaven at too dear a rate ; or that 
his salvation cost him more labour than it was worth ? We 
may say of all our labours, as Paul of his sufferings, "I 
reckon that the sufferings 53 (and labours) " of this present 
time, are not worthy to be compared with the glory that 
shall be revealed." We labour but for a moment, but we 
shall rest for ever. Who would not put forth all his strength 
for one hour, w T hen he may be a prince while he lives ? 

Oh, what is the duty and sufferings for a short life, in 
respect of endless joys with God ? Will not " all our tears 
then be wiped away ?" and all the sorrows of our duties 
forgotten ? But yet the Lord will not forget them : " for he 
is not unjust, to forget our work and labour of love." 

13. Consider, violence and laborious striving for salvation 
is the way that the wisdom of God hath directed us to, as 
best, and his sovereign authority appointed us as necessary. 
Who knows the way to heaven better than the God of hea- 
ven ? When men tell us that we are too strict, whom do 
they accuse, God or us ? If we do no more than what we 
are commanded, nor so much neither ; they may as well 
say, God hath made laws which are too strict. Sure if it 
were a fault, it would lie in him that commands, and not in 
us who obey. And dare these men think that they are 
wiser than God ? Do they know better than he, what men 
must do to be saved ?; These are the men that ask us> 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 103 

Whether we are wiser than all the world besides? and yet 
they will pretend to be wiser than God. What do they less, 
when God bids us take the most diligent course, and they 
tell us, it is more ado than needs? Mark well the language 
of God, and see how you can reconcile it with the language 
of the world: "The kingdom of heaven sufFereth violence, 
and the violent take it by force. Strive to enter in at the 
strait gate ; for many shall seek to enter in, and not be able. 
Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with all thy might ; 
for there is no work, nor device, nor. knowledge, or wisdom, 
in the grave, whither thou goest. Work out your salvation 
with fear and trembling. Give diligence to make your calling 
and election sure. If the righteous scarcely be saved, where 
shall the ungodly and sinner appear?'*' 

This is the constant language of Christ: and which shall 
1 follow, God or men ; yea, and that the worst and most 
wicked men ? Shall I think that every ignorant worldly sot, 
that can only call a man a puritan, knows more than Christ, 
or can tell God how to mend the Scriptures? Let them 
bring all the seeming reason they can against the holy, 
violent striving of the saints ; and this sufficeth me to confute 
them all, that God is of another mind, and he hath com- 
manded me to do much more than I do : and though I could 
see no reason for it, yet his will is reason enough to me : I 
am sure God is worthy to govern us, if we were better than 
we are. Who should make laws for us, but he that made 
us ? And who should mark out the way to heaven, but he 
that must bring us thither ? And who should determine on 
what conditions we shall be saved, but he that bestows the 
gift of salvation ? So that let the world, or the flesh, or the 
devil, speak against a holy laborious course, this is my 
answer, God hath commanded it. 

14. Moreover, it is a course that all men in the world 
either do, or will approve of. There is not a man that ever 
was, or is, or shall be, but shall one day justify the diligence 
of the saints. And who would not go that way, which every 
man shall applaud ? 

It is true, it is now a way every where spoken against, and 
hated; but let me tell you, 1. Most that speak against it, in 
their judgments approve of it; only because the practice of 
godliness is against the pleasures of the flesh, therefore do 
they, against their own judgments, resist it. They have not 
one word of reason against it, but reproaches and railing are 
their best arguments. 2. Those that are now against it, 
whether in judgment or passion, will shortly be of another 
mind. If they come to heaven, their mind must be changed 
before they come there. If they go to hell, their judgment 
will then be altered, whether they will or no. 



104 the saint's everlasting rest. 

If you could speak with every soul that suffereth those 
torments, and ask, Whether it be possible to be too diligent 
and serious in seeking salvation ? you may easily conjecture 
what answer they would return. Take the most bitter de- 
rider or persecutor of godliness, even those feat will venture 
their lives to overthrow it, if those men do not shortly wish 
a thousand times that they had been the most holy, diligent 
Christians on earth, then let me bear the shame of a false 
prophet for ever. 

Remember this, }'ou that will be of the opinion and way 
that most are of : why will you not be of the opinion then 
that all will be shortly of? Why will you be of a judgment 
which you are sure you shali all shortly change ? O that 
you were but as wise in this, as those in hell. 

15. Consider, they that have been the most serious, pain 
ful Christians, when they come to die, exceedingly lament 
their negligence. Those that have wholly addicted them- 
selves to the work of God, and have made it the business of 
their lives, and have slighted the world, and mortified the 
flesh, and have been the wonders of the world for their 
heavenly conversations ; yet when conscience is deeply 
awakened, how do their failings wound them ? Even those 
that are hated and derided by the world for being so strict, 
and are thought to be almost beside themselves for their 
extraordinary diligence ; yet commonly when they lie a 
dying, wish, O that they had been a thousand times more 
holy, more heavenly, more laborious for their souls ! What 
a case then will the negligent world be in, when their con- 
sciences are awakened, when they lie dying, and look behind 
them upon a lazy, negligent life ; and look before them upon 
a severe and terrible judgment ? What an esteem will they 
have of a holy life ? For my own part, I may say as Erasmus, 
" They accuse me for doing too much, but my own con- 
science accuseth me for doing too little, and being too slow; 
and it is far easier bearing the scorns of the world, than the 
scourges of conscience." The world speaks at a distance 
without me, so that though I hear their words, I can choose 
whether I will feel them ; but my conscience speaks within, 
at the very heart, so that every check doth pierce me to the 
quick. Conscience, when it reprehends justly, is the mes- 
senger of God : ungodly revilers, are the voice of the devil. 
1 had rather be reproached by the devil for seeking salva- 
tion, than reproved of God for neglecting it : I had rather 
the world should call me puritan in the devil's name, than 
conscience should call me a loiterer in God's name. As God 
and conscience are more useful friends than Satan and the 
world ; so are they more dreadful, irresistible enemies. 

And thus, reader, I have showed thee sufficient reason 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 105 

against thy slothfulness and negligence, if thou be not a 
man resolved to shut thine eyes, and to destroy thyself. 
Yet, lest all this should not prevail, I will add somewhat 
more, to persuade thee to be serious in thy endeavours for 
heaven. 

1. Consider, God is in good earnest with you; and why 
then should you not be so with him? In his commands, he 
means as he speaks, and will verily require your real obedi- 
ence. In his threatenings he is serious, and will make them 
all good against the rebellious. In his promises he is serious, 
and will fulfil them to the obedient, even to the least tittle. 
In his judgments he is serious, as he will make his enemies 
know to their terror. Was not God in good earnest when 
he drowned the world, when he consumed Sodom and 
Gomorrah, when he scattered the Jews? And very shortly 
will lay hold on his enemies, particularly man by man, and 
make them know that he is in good earnest : especially when 
it comes to the great reckoning day. And is it time then for 
us to dally with God ? 

2. Jesus Christ was serious in purchasing our redemption. 
He was serious in teaching, " when he neglected his meat 
and drink," John iv, 32. lie was serious in praying, " when 
he continued all night at it." He was serious in doing good, 
"when his kindred came and laid hands on him, thinking 
he had been beside himself." He was serious in suffering, 
" when he fasted forty days, was tempted, betrayed, spit on, 
buffeted, crowned with thorns, sweat blood, was crucified, 
pierced, died." There was no jesting in all this. And should 
we not be serious in seeking our own salvation? 

3. The Holy Ghost is serious in soliciting us for our hap- 
piness. His motions are frequent, and pressing, and impor- 
tunate: he striveth with our hearts. He is grieved when 
we resist him ; and should not we then be serious in obeying 
his motions, and yielding to his suit? 

4. How serious and diligent are all the creatures in their 
service to thee ? What haste makes the sun to compass the 
world ? And how truly doth it return at its appointed hour! 
So do the moon and other planets. The springs are always 
flowing for thy use ; the rivers still running; the spring and 
harvest keep their times. How hard doth thy ox labour for 
thee from day to day ? How painfully and speedily doth thy 
horse bear thee in travel ? And shall all these be laborious, 
and thou only negligent? Shall they all be so serious in 
serving thee, and yet thou be so slight in thy service to 
God? 

5. Consider, the servants of the world and the devil are 
serious and diligent : they ply their work continually, as if 
they could never do enough : they make haste, and march 



106 the saint's everlasting rest. 

furiously, as if they were afraid of coming to hell too late : 
they bear down ministers, and sermons, and counsel, and 
all, before them. And shall they do more for the devil, than 
thou wilt do for God ? Or be more diligent for damnation, 
than thou wilt be for salvation? Hast not thou a better 
master; and sweeter employment; and sweeter encourage- 
ment ; and a better reward ? 

6. There is no jesting in heaven nor in hell. The saints 
have a real happiness, and the damned a real misery ; the 
saints are serious and high in their joy and praise, and the 
damned are serious and deep in their sorrow and complaints. 
There are no remiss or sleepy praises in heaven ; nor any 
remiss or sleepy lamentations in hell : all men there are in 
good earnest. And should we not then be serious now ? I 
dare promise thee, the thoughts of these things will shortly 
be serious thoughts with thyself. When thou comest to 
death or judgment, O what deep heart-piercing thoughts 
wilt thou have of eternity ! Methinks I foresee thee already 
astonished, to think how thou couldst possibly make so light 
of these things ! Methinks I even hear thee crying out of 
thy stupidity and madness ! 

And now having laid thee down these undeniable argu- 
ments, 1 do in the name of God demand thy resolution. 
What sayest thou? Wilt thou yield obedience or not? I 
am confident thy conscience is convinced of thy duty. 
Darest thou now go on in thy common careless course, 
against the plain evidence of reason and commands of God, 
and against the light of thy own conscience ? Darest fhou 
live as loosely, and sin as boldly, and pray as seldom, and 
as coldly, as before? Darest thou now as carnally spend 
the sabbath, and slumber over the service of God as slightly, 
and think of thine everlasting state as carelessly, as before ? 
Or dost thou not rather resolve to gird up the loins of thy 
mind, and to set thyself wholly about the work of thy sal- 
vation ; and to do it with all thy might ; and to break over 
all the oppositions of the world, and to slight all their scorns 
and persecutions : " to cast off the weight that hangeth on 
thee ; and the sin that doth so easily beset thee ; and to run 
with patience and speed the race that is set before thee?' 3 I 
hope these are thy full resolutions : if thou art well in thy 
wits, I am sure they are. 

Yet, because I know the strange obstinacy of the heart 
of man, and because I would fain leave these persuasions 
fastened in thy heart, that so, if it be possible, thou mightest 
be awakened to thy duty, and thy soul might live, I shall 
proceed with thee yet a little further : and I once more 
entreat thee to stir up thy attention, and go along with me 
in the free and sober use of thy reason, while I propound 



THE SAINT S EVERLASTING REST. 107 

these following questions : and I command thee from God, 
that thou resist not conviction, but answer them faithfully, 
and obey accordingly. 

Question 1. If you could grow rich by religion, or get 
lands and lordships thereby ; or if you could get honour or 
preferment by it in the world ; or could be recovered from 
sickness by it ; or could live for ever in prosperity on earth ; 
what kind of lives would you then lead, and what pains would 
you take in the service of God ? And is not the rest of the 
saints a more excellent happiness than all this ? 

Question 2. If the law of the land did punish every breach 
of the sabbath, or every omission of family duties, or secret 
duties, or every cold and heartless prayer, with death : if it 
were felony or treason to be negligent in worship, and loose 
in your lives ; what manner of persons would you then be, 
and what lives would you lead ? And is not eternal death 
more terrible than temporal ? 

Question 3. If it were God's ordinary course to punish 
every sin with some present judgment, so that every time a 
man" swears, or is drunk, or speaks a lie, or backbiteth his 
neighbour, he should be struck dead, or blind, or lame, in 
the place: if God did punish every cold prayer, or neglect 
of duty, with some remarkable plague ; what manner of 
persons would you be? If you should suddenly fall down 
dead, like Ananias and Sapphira, with the sin in your hands ; 
or the plague of God should seize upon you, as upon the 
Israelites, while their sweet morsels were yet in their mouths : 
if but a mark should be set in the forehead of every one that 
neglected a duty, or committed a sin ; what kind of lives 
would you then lead ? And is not eternal wrath more ter- 
rible than all this ? 

Question 4. If you had seen the general dissolution of the 
world, and all the pomp and glory of it consumed to ashes : 
if you saw all on fire about you, sumptuous buildings, cities, 
kingdoms, land, water, earth, heaven, all flaming about your 
ears : if you had seen all that men laboured for, and sold 
their souls for, gone ; friends gone ; the place of your former 
abode gone ; the history ended, and all come down ; what 
would such a sight as this persuade you to do? Why, such 
a sight thou shalt certainly see. I put my question to thee 
in the words of the apostle, 2 Peter iii, " Seeing all these 
things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought 
you to be in all holy conversation and godliness, looking 
for, and hasting unto, the coming of the day of God, wherein 
the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements 
shall melt with fervent heat ?" As if he should say, we cannot 
possibly conceive or express what manner of persons we 
should be in all holiness and godliness, when we do but 



108 the saint's everlasting rest. 

think of the sudden, and certain, and terrible dissolution of 
all things below. 

Question 5. What if you had seen the process of the judg- 
ment of the great day ? If you had seen the judgment set, 
and the books opened, and the most stand trembling on the 
left hand of the Judge, and Christ himself accusing them of 
their rebellions and neglects, and remembering them of all 
their former slightings of his grace, and at last condemning 
them to perpetual perdition ? If you had seen the godly stand- 
ing on the right hand, and Jesus Christ acknowledging their 
faithful obedience, and adjudging them to the possession of 
the joy of their Lord ; what manner of persons would you 
have been after such a sight as this? Why, this sight thou 
shalt one day see, as sure as thou livest. And why then 
should not the foreknowledge of such a day awake thee to 
thy duty ? 

Question 6. What if you had once seen hell open, and all 
the damned there in their ceaseless torments, and had heard 
them crying out of their slothfulness in the day of their 
visitation, and wishing that they had but another life to live, 
and that God would but try them once again? One crying 
out of his neglect of duty, and another of his loitering and 
trifling, when he should have been labouring for his life ; 
what manner of persons would you have been after such a 
sight as this ? What if you had seen heaven opened, as 
Stephen did, and all the saints there triumphing in glory, 
and enjoying the end of their labours and sufferings; what 
a life would you lead after such a sight as this? Why, you 
will see this with your eyes, before it be long. 

Question 7. What if you had lain in hell but one year, or 
one day, or hour, and there felt those torments that now 
you do but hear of; and God should turn you into the world 
again, and try you with another life time, and say, I will 
see whether thou wilt be yet any better; what manner of 
persons would you be ? If you were to live a thousand years, 
would you not gladly live as strictly as the precisest saints, 
and spend all those years in prayer and duty, so you might 
but escape the torment which you suffered? how seriously 
then would you speak of hell! and pray against it! and 
hear, and read, and w T atch, and obey ! How earnestly would 
you admonish the careless to take heed, and look about 
them to prevent their ruin ! And will not you take God's 
word for the truth of this, except you feel it? Is it not your 
wisdom to do as much now to prevent it, as you would do 
to remove it when it is too late ? Is it not more wisdom to 
spend this life in labouring for heaven, while ye hare it, 
than to lie in torment, wishing for more time in vain ? 

And thus I have said enough, if not to stir up the lazy 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST* 100 

sinner to a serious working out his salvation, yet at least to 
silence him, and leave him inexcusable at the judgment of 
God. If thou canst, after reading all this, go on in the same 
neglect of God, and thy soul, and draw out the rest of thy 
life in the same dull and careless course, as thou hast hitherto 
done ; and if thou hast so far stupified thy conscience, that 
it will quietly suffer thee to forget all this, and to trifle out 
the rest of thy time in the business of the world, when in 
the mean while thy salvation is in danger, and the Judge is 
at the door; I have then no more to say to thee: it is as 
good to speak to a rock. Only as we do by our friends, 
when they are dead, and our words and actions can do them 
no good, yet to testify our affections, we weep and mourn for 
them ; so will I also do for these souls. It makes my heart 
even tremble to think how they will stand trembling before 
the Lord ! and how confounded and speechless they will be 
when Christ shall reason with them concerning their negli- 
gence and sloth ! When he shall say, as the Lord doth in 
Jeremiah ii, 5, 9, 11, 13, " What iniquity have your fathers 
(or you) found in me, that ye are gone far from me, and 
have walked after vanity ? Did I ever wrong you, or do you 
any harm, or ever discourage you from following my service? 
Was my way so bad that you could not endure it ? or my 
service so base that you could not stoop to it ? Did I stoop 
to the fulfilling of the law for you, and could not you stoop 
to fulfil the easy conditions of my gospel ? Was the world, 
or Satan, a better friend to you than I ? Or had they done 
for you more than I had done? Try now whether they will 
save you ; or whether they will recompense you for the loss 
of heaven ; or whether they will be as good to you as I would 
have been." O ! what will the wretched sinner answer to any 
of this ! But, though man will not hear^ yet we may have 
hope in speaking to God : Lord, smite these rocks till they 
gush forth waters : though these ears are deaf, say to them, 
Ephphatha, be opened ; though these sinners be dead, let 
that power speak which sometime said, " Lazarus, arise !" 
We know they will be awakened at the last resurrection : 
O, but then it will be only to their sorrow ! O, thou that 
didst weep and groan over dead Lazarus, pity these sad and 
senseless souls, till they are able to weep and groan for, and 
pity themselves. As thou hast bid thy servants speak, so 
speak now thyself; they will hear thy voice speaking to 
their hearts, that will not hear mine speaking to their ears. 
Long hast thou knocked at these hearts in vain ; now break 
the doors, and enter in. 

Yet I will add a few more words to good men in particular, 
to show them why they above all men should be laborious 
for heaven ; and that there is a great deal of reason, that 

10 



110 THE SAINT*S EVERLASTING REST. 

though all the world sit still, yet they should abhor that 
laziness and negligence, and lay out all their strength on the 
work of God. To this end, I desire them also to answer 
soberly to these few questions : 

Question 1. What manner of persons should those be, who 
have felt the smart of their negligence in the new birth, in 
their several wounds and trouble of conscience, in their 
doubts and fears, in their various afflictions ; they that have 
groaned and cried out so oft, under the sense and effects of 
their negligence, and are like enough to feel it again, if they 
do not reform it? Sure one would think they should be 
slothful no more. 

Question 2. What manner of persons should those be, who 
have bound themselves to God by so many covenants as we 
have done, and in special have covenanted so oft to be more 
painful and faithful in his service ? At every sacrament ; on 
many days of humiliation and thanksgiving ; in most of our 
deep distresses and dangerous sicknesses ; we are still ready 
to bewail our neglects, and to engage ourselves, if God will 
but try us and trust us once again, how diligent and labo- 
rious we will be, and how we will improve our time, and 
reprove offenders, and watch over ourselves, and ply our 
work ; and do him more service in a day than we did in a 
month? The Lord pardon our perfidious covenant break- 
ing ; and grant that our engagements may not condemn us. 

Question 3. What manner of men should they be in 
duty, who have received so much encouragement as we 
have done? Who have tasted such sweetness in diligent 
obedience, as doth much more than countervail all the 
pains ; who have so oft had' experience of the wide differ- 
ence between lazy and laborious duty, by their different 
issues ; who have found all our lazy duties unfruitful ; and 
all our strivings and wrestlings with God successful, so that 
we were never importunate with God in vain ? We who 
have had so many deliverances upon urgent seeking; and 
have received almost all our solid comforts in a way of close 
ami constant duty : how should we, above all men, ply our 
work ? 

Question 4. What manner of persons should they be in 
holiness, who have so much of the great work yet undone ? 
So many sins in so great strength ; graces weak ; sanctifica- 
tion imperfect ; corruptions still working, and taking advan- 
tage of all our omission ? When we are as a boatman on 
the water ; let him row never so hard, a month together, 
yet if he do but slack his hand, and think to ease himself, 
his boat goes faster down the stream than before it went 
up : so do our souls, when we think to ease ourselves by 
abating our pains in duty. Our time is short : our enemies 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. Hi 

mighty : our hinderances many : God seems yet at a dis- 
tance from many of us : our thoughts of him are dull and 
unbelieving : our acquaintance and communion with Christ 
is small, and our desires to be with him are as small ; and 
should men in our case stand still ? 

Question 5. Lastly, what manner of persons should they 
be, on whom the glory of the great God doth so much 
depend ? Men will judge of the father by the children, and 
of the master by the servants. We bear his image, and 
therefore men will measure him by his representation. He 
is no where in the world so lively represented as in his 
saints : and shall they set him forth as a pattern of idleness? 
All the world is not capable of honouring or dishonouring 
God so much as we : and the least of the honour is of more 
worth than all our lives. Seeing then that all these things 
are so, I charge thee, that art a Christian, in my Master's 
name, to consider and resolve the question, " What manner 
of persons ought we to be in all holy conversation and god- 
liness?" And let thy life answer the question as well as thy 
tongue. 

I have been larger upon this use, partly because of the 
general neglect of heaven, that all sorts are guilty of; partly 
because men's salvation depends upon their present striving 
and seeking ; partly because the doctrine of free grace mis- 
understood, is lately so abused, to the cherishing of sloth 
and security ; partly because many eminent men of late do 
judge, that to work or labour for Life and salvation is mer- 
cenary, legal, and dangerous ; which doctrine, (as I have 
said before,) were it by the owners reduced into practice, 
would undoubtedly damn them ; because they that seek not, 
shall not find ; and they that strive not to enter, shall be 
shut out; and they that labour not, shall not be crowned; 
and, partly because it is grown the custom, instead of striving 
for the kingdom, and contending for the faith, to strive with 
each other about uncertain controversies, and to contend 
about the circumstantials of faith ; wherein the kingdom of 
God doth no more consist than in meats, or drinks, or gene- 
alogies. Sirs, shall we who are brethren fall out by the way 
home,, and spend so much of our time about the smaller 
matters, which thousands have been saved without, but 
never any one saved by them, while Christ and our eternal 
rest are almost forgotten? The Lord pardon and heal the 
folly of his people ! 



112 THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 



CHAPTER VII. 

THE THIRD FSE. PERSUADING ALL MEN TO TRY THEIR TITLE 

TO THIS REST ; AND DIRECTING THEM HOW TO TRY, THAT 
THEY MAY KNOW. 

I now proceed to the third use ; and because it is of very 
great importance, I entreat thee to weigh it the more seri 
ously. 

Is there such a glorious rest so near at hand ? And shall 
none enjoy it but the people of God ? What mean the most 
of the world then, to live so contentedly without the assu- 
rance of their interest m this rest ? And to neglect the trying 
of their title to it, when the Lord hath so fully opened the 
blessedness of that kingdom, which none but obedient 
believers shall possess ; and so fully express those torments 
which all the rest of the world must eternally suffer ? A 
man would think now, that they who believe this should 
never be at any quiet till they were heirs of the kingdom. 
Most men say they believe this word of God to be true : how 
then can they sit still in such an utter uncertainty, whether 
ever they shall live in rest or not ? Lord, what a wonderful 
madness is this,, that men who know they must presently 
enter upon unchangeable joy or pain, should yet live as 
uncertain what shall be their doom, as if they had never 
heard of any such state : yea, and live as quietly, and as 
merrily, in this uncertainty, as if nothing ailed them, and 
there were no danger ! 

Are these men alive or dead ? Are they waking or asleep? 
What do they think on ? Where are their hearts ? If they 
have but a weighty suit at law, how careful are they to 
know whether it will go for them, or against them ? If they 
were to be tried for their lives, how careful would they be 
to know whether they should be saved or condemned, 
especially if their care might surely save them ? If they be 
dangerously sick, they will inquire of the physician, What 
think you, sir, shall I escape or no? But for the business of 
their salvation, they are content to be uncertain. If you ask 
most men a reason, of their hopes to be saved, they will say, 
It is because God is merciful, and Christ died for sinners, 
and the like general reasons ; which any man in the world 
may give as well as they ; but put them to prove their inte- 
rest in Christ, and the saving mercy of God, and they can 
say nothing at all ; at least nothing out of their hearts and 
experience. 

If God should ask them for their souls, as he did Cain for 
his brother Abel x they could return but such an answer; aa 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 113 

he did. If God or man should say to them. What case is thy 
soul in, man ? Is it regenerated and pardoned, or no ? Is it 
in a state of life, or a state of death ? He would be ready to 
say, I know not, am I my soul's keeper ? I hope well ; I 
trust God with my soul ; I shall speed as well as other men 
do ; I thank God I never made any doubt of my salvation. 
Thou hast the more cause to doubt a great deal, because 
thou never didst doubt ; and yet more, because thou hast 
been so careless in thy confidence. What do these expres- 
sions discover, but a wilful neglect of thy own salvation ? 
As a ship master that should let his vessel alone, and say, I 
will venture it among the rocks, and the waves, and winds ; 

1 will trust God with it ; it will speed as well as other 
vessels do. Indeed as well as other men's that are as careless 
and idle, but not so well as other men's that are diligent 
and watchful. What horrible abuse of God is this, for men 
to pretend they trust God, to cloak their own wilful negli- 
gence ! If thou didst truly trust God, thou wouldst also be 
ruled by him, and trust him in that way which he hath 
appointed thee. He requires thee to " give all diligence to 
make thy calling and election sure," and so to trust him, 

2 Peter i, 10. He hath marked thee out a way by which 
thou mayest come to be sure ; and charged thee to search ' 
and try thyself till thou certainly know. Were he not a 
foolish traveller that would go on when he doth not know 
whether it be right or wrong ; and say, I hope I am right ; 
I will go on and trust God ? Art not thou guilty of this 
folly in thy travels to eternity ? Not considering that a little 
serious inquiry, whether the way be right, might save thee 
a great deal of labour, which thou bestowest in vain, and 
must undo again, or else thou wilt miss of salvation, and 
undo thyself. Did I not know what a desperate, blind, 
carnal heart is, I should wonder how thou dost to keep off 
continual terrors from thy heart ; and especially in these 
cases following: 

1. I wonder how thou canst either think or speak of the 
dreadful God without exceeding terror and astonishment, 
as long as thou art uncertain whether he be thy father or 
thy enemy, and knowest not but all his attributes may be 
employed against thee. If his " saints must rejoice before 
him with trembling, and serve him with fear :" if they that 
are sure to receive the immovable kingdom, must yet serve 
God " with reverence and godly fear," because " he is a 
consuming fire :'\ how terrible should the remembrance of 
nim be to them that know not but this fire may for ever 
consume them. 

2. How dost thou think without trembling, upon Jesus 
Christ, when thou knowest not whether his blood hath 

10* 



114 THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 

purged thy soul or not? And whether he will condemn 
thee or acquit thee in judgment: nor whether he be the 
corner stone and foundation of thy happiness, or a stone of 
stumbling to break thee, and grind thee to powder? 

3. How canst thou open the Bible and read a chapter, or 
hear a chapter read, but it bhould terrify thee ? Methinks 
every leaf should be to thee as Belshazzar's writing on the 
wall, except only that which draws thee to try and reform. 
If thou read the promises, thou knowest not whether ever 
they shall be fulfilled to thee, because thou art uncertain of 
thy performance of the condition. If thou read the threaten- 
ings, for any thing thou knowest, thou dost read thy own 
sentence. I do not wonder if thou art an enemy to plain 
preaching, and if thou say of it, and of tho minister and 
Scripture itself, as Ahab of the prophet, " I hate him, for he 
doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil." 

4. What comfort canst thou find in any thing which thou 
possessest? Methinks friends, and honours, and houses, and 
lands, should do thee little good, till thou know thou hast 
the love of God withal, and shalt have rest with him when 
thou leavest these. Offer to a prisoner, before he know his 
sentence, either music, or clothes, or lands, or preferment, 
and what cares he for any of these, till he know how he 
shall escape for his life ? Then he will look after these 
comforts of life, and not before ; for he knows if he must 
die the next day, it will be small comfort to die rich or 
honourable. Even when thou liest down to take thy rest> 
methinks the uncertainty of thy salvation should keep thee 
waking, or amaze thee in thy dreams, and trouble thy sleep; 
and thou shouldst say, as Job in a smaller distress than 
thine, Job vii, 13, 14, " When I say, my bed shall comfort 
me, my couch shall ease my complaint, then thou scarest 
me through dreams, and terrifiest me through visions." 

5. What shift dost thou make to think of thy dying hour ? 
Thou knowest it is hard by, and there is no avoiding it, nor 
any medicine found out that can prevent it: thou knowest 
it is the king of terror, and the inlet to thine unchangeable 
state. If thou shouldst die this day, (and "who knows what 
a day may bring forth ?") thou dost not know whether thou 
shalt go straight to heaven or hell. And canst thou be merry 
till thou art got out of this dangerous state ? 

6. What shift dost thou make to preserve thy heart from 
horror, when thou rememberest the great judgment day, 
and the everlasting flames * Dost thou not tremble as Felix, 
when thou nearest of it? and as the elders of the town 
trembled when Samuel came to it, saying, Comest thou 
peaceably? So methinks thou shouldst do when the min-, 
ister comes into the pulpit: and thy heart, whenever tho^ 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 115 

meditatest of that day, should meditate terror ; and thou 
shouldst even be a terror to thyself and all thy friends. If 
the keepers trembled, and became as dead men, when they 
did but see the angels, Matt, xxviii, 3, 4, how canst thou 
think of living in hell with devils, till thou hast got some 
sound assurance that thou shalt escape it? Or if thou 
seldom think of these things, the wonder is as great, what 
shift thou makest to keep these thoughts from thy heart ? 
Thy bed is very soft, or thy heart is very hard, if thou canst 
sleep soundly in this uncertain case. 

I have showed thee the danger ; let me next proceed to 
show thee the remedy. 

If this general uncertainty of the world about their sal- 
vation were remediless, then must it be borne as other 
unavoidable miseries : but, alas, the common cause is wil- 
fulness and negligence : men will not be persuaded to use 
the remedy, though it be at hand, prescribed to them by 
God himself, and all necessary helps thereunto provided 
for them. The great means to conquer this uncertainty, is 
self examination, or the serious and diligent trying of a 
man's heart and state by the rule of Scripture. But, alas, 
either men understand not the nature and use of this duty, 
or else they will not be at the pains to try. Go through a 
congregation of a thousand men, and how few of them will 
you meet with that ever bestowed one hour in all their lives 
in a close examination of their title to heaven? Ask thy 
own conscience, reader, when was the time, and where was 
the place, that ever thou solemnly tookedst thy heart to task, 
as in the sight of God, and examinedst it by Scripture, whe- 
ther it be born again or not ? Whether it be holy or not? 
Whether it be set most on God or on creatures,, on heaven 
or earth? And didst follow on this examination till thou 
hadst discovered thy condition, and so passed sentence on 
thyself accordingly ? 

But because this is a work of so high concernment, and 
so commonly neglected, I will therefore,. 

1. Show you, that it is possible, by trying, to come to a 
certainty. 

2. Show you the hinderances that keep : men from trying., 
and from assurance. 

3. I will lay down some motives to persuade you to it. 

4. I will give you some directions how to perform it. 

5. And, lastly, I will lay you down some marks out cf 
Scripture, by which you may try, and come to an infallibls 
certainty, whether you are the people of God or no. 

And 1, I shall show you that a certainty of salvation may 
be attained, and ought to be laboured for; which. I maintain 
by these arguments.!: 



116 THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 

1. Scripture tells us we may know, and that the saints 
before us have known their justification and salvation, 2 Cor. 
v, 1; Romans viii, 36; John xxi, 15; 1 John v, 19, iv, 13, 
iii, 14, 24, ii, 3, 5; Rom. viii, 14, 19; Eph. iii, 12. I refer 
you to the places for brevity. 

2. If we may be certain of the premises, then may we 
also be certain of the conclusion. But here we may be 
certain of both the premises. For, 1. " That whosoever 
believeth in Christ shall not perish, but have everlasting 
life," is the voice of the gospel ; and, therefore, that we 
may be sure of. That we are such believers, may be known 
by conscience and internal sense. 

3. The Scripture would never make such a wide difference 
between the children of God, and the children of the devil, 
and set forth the happiness of the one, and the misery of 
the other, and make this difference to run through all the 
veins of its doctrine, if a man cannot know which of these 
two states he is in. 

4. Much less would the Holy Ghost bid us "give all dili- 
gence to make our calling and election sure," if it could not 
be done, 2 Peter i, 10. 

5. And to what purpose should we be so earnestly urged 
to examine, and prove, and try ourselves, whether we be in 
the faith, and whether Christ be in us, or we be reprobates? 
1 Cor. xi, 28, xiii, 5. Why should we search for that which 
cannot be found ? 

6. How can we obey those precepts which require us to 
rejoice always ? 1 Thess. v, 16 ; to call God our father, Luke 
xi, 13; to live in his praises, Psa. xlix, 1-5; and to long for 
Christ's coming, Rev. xxii, 17, 20 ; 2 Thess. i, 10 ; and to 
comfort ourselves with the mention of it, 1 Thess. iv, 18 ; 
which are all the consequents of assurance? Who can do 
any of these heartily, that is not in some measure sure that 
he is a child of God? 

The second thing I promised is, to show you what are 
the hinderances which keep men from examination and 
assurance. I shall, 1. Show what hinders them from trying; 
and 2. What hindereth them from knowing when they do 
try ; that so when you see the impediments, you may avoid 
them. 

And, 1. We cannot doubt but Satan will do his part to 
hinder us from such a necessary duty as this ; if all the 
power he hath can do it, or all the means and instruments 
which he can raise up. He is loath the godly should have 
that assurance and advantage against corruption, which 
faithful self examination would procure them ; and for the 
ungodly he knows, that if they should once fall close to 
this, they would find out his deceits, and their own danger. 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 117 

If they did but faithfully perform this duty, he were likely 
to lose most of his subjects. If the snare be not hid, the 
bird will escape it : Satan knows how to angle for souls 
better than to show them the hook or line, and to fright 
them away with a noise, or with his own appearance. 

Therefore he labours to keep them from a searching min- 
istry : or to keep the minister from helping them to search : 
or to take off the edge of the word, that it may not pierce : 
or to turn away their thoughts, or possess them with pre- 
judice. Satan is acquainted with all the preparations of the 
minister ; he knows when he hath provided a searching 
sermon, fitted to the state and necessity of a hearer ; and 
therefore he will keep him away that day, if it be possible, 
or else cast him asleep, or steal away the word by the cares 
and talk of the world, or some way prevent its operation. 

This is the first hinderance. 

2. Wicked men also are great impediments to poor sinners 
when they should examine and discover their estates. 

1. Their examples hinder much. When an ignorant sinner 
seeth all his friends and neighbours do as he doth, yea, the 
rich and learned as well as others, this is an exceeding great 
temptation to proceed in his security. 

2. The merry company and discourse of these men do 
take away the thoughts of his spiritual state, and make the 
understanding drunk : so that if the Spirit had before put 
into them any jealousy of themselves, or any purpose to try 
thfimsplves, these do soon quench all. 

3. Also their continual discourse of matters of the world, 
doth damp all these purposes. 

4. Their railings also, and scorning at godly persons, is a 
very great impediment to multitudes of souls, and possesseth 
them with such a prejudice and dislike of the way to heaven, 
that they settle in the way they are in. 

5. Their constant persuasions, allurements, and threats, 
hinder much. God doth scarce ever open the eyes of a poor 
sinner, to see that his way is wrong, but presently there is 
a multitude of Satan's apostles ready to flatter him, and 
daub, and deceive, and settle him again in the quiet posses- 
sion of his former master. What, say they, do you make a 
doubt of your salvation, who have lived so well, and done 
nobody harm f God is merciful : and if such as you shall 
not be saved, God help a great many. What do you think is 
become of all your forefathers ? And what will become of all 
your friends and neighbours that live as you do? Will they 
all be damned ? Shall none be saved, think you, but a few 
strict ones ? Come, come, if you hearken to these books or 
preachers,, they will drive you to despair, or drive you out 
pf your wits. Thus do they follow the soul that is escaping 



118 THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 

from Satan, with restless cries, till they have brought him 
back. Oh, how many thousands have such charms kept 
asleep in security, till death and hell have awakened and 
better informed them ! The Lord calls to the sinner, and 
tells him, " The gate is strait, the way is narrow, and few 
find it : try and examine whether thou be in the faith or no : 
give all diligence to make sure in time." And the world 
cries out clean the contrary, "Never doubt, never trouble 
yourselves with these thoughts." I entreat the sinner that 
is in this strait to consider, that it is Christ, and not their 
fathers, or mothers, or neighbours, or friends, that must 
judge them : and if Christ condemn them, these cannot save 
them : and therefore common reason may tell them, that it 
is not from the words of ignorant men, but from the word 
of God that they must fetch their hopes of salvation. 

When Ahab would inquire among the multitudes of flat- 
tering prophets, it was his death. They can flatter men into 
the snare, but they cannot bring them out. Oh, take the 
counsel of the Holy Ghost, Ephesians v, 6, 7, " Let no man 
deceive you with vain words : for because of these things 
cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. 
Be not ye therefore partakers with them :" but «ave your- 
selves from this untoward generation. 

3. But the greatest hinderances are in men's own hearts. 

1. Some are so ignorant that they know not what self 
examination is, nor what a minister means when he per- 
SUadeth them to try thpmselves ; or they know not that 
there is any necessity of it ; but think every man is bound 
to believe that God is his father, and that his sins are par- 
doned, whether it be true or false ; and that it were a great 
fault to make any question of it : or they do not think that 
assurance can be attained : or that there is any such great 
difference betwixt one man and another : but that we are 
all Christians, and therefore need not trouble ourselves any 
further; or at least, they know not wherein the difference 
lies ; or how to set upon this searching of their hearts. They 
have as gross conceits of that regeneration, which they must 
search for, as Nicodemus had ; they are like those in Acts 
xix, 2, that " knew not whether there were a Holy Ghost to 
be received or no." 

2. Some are so possessed with self love and pride, that 
they will not so much as suspect any danger to themselves. 
Like a proud tradesman who scorns the motion when his 
friends desire him to cast up his books, because they are 
afraid he will break. As some fond parents that have an 
overweening conceit of their own children, and therefore 
will not believe or hear any evil of them. Such a fond self 
love doth hinder men from suspecting and trying their states. 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 119 

3. Some are so guilty that they dare not try : they are so 
fearful that they should find their estates unsound, that they 
dare not search into them. And yet they dare venture them 
to a more dreadful trial. 

4. Some aie so in love with their sin, and so in dislike 
with the way of God, that they dare not fall on the trial of 
their ways, lest they be forced from the course which they love. 

5. Some are so resolved already never to change their 
present state, that they neglect examination as a useless 
thing. Before they will turn so precise, and seek a new 
way, when they have lived so long, and gone so far, they 
will put their eternal state to the venture, come of it what 
will. And when a man is fully resolved to hold to his way, 
and not to turn back, be it right or wrong, to what end 
should he inquire whether he be right or no? 

6. Most men are so taken up with their worldly affairs, 
and are so busy in providing for the flesh, that they cannot 
set themselves to the trying of their title to heaven. They 
have another kind of happiness in their eye, which will not 
suffer them to make sure of heaven. 

7. But the most common impediment is, that false faith 
and hope commonly called presumption ; which bears up 
the hearts of most of the world, and so keeps them from 
suspecting their danger. 

Thus you see what abundance of difficulties must be 
overcome, before a man closely sets upon the examining of 
his heart. 

And if a man break through all these impediments, and 
set upon the duty, yet, of those few who inquire after means 
of assurance, divers are deceived and miscarry, especially 
through these following causes : 

1. There is such confusion and darkness in the soul of 
man, especially of an unregenerate man, that he can scarcely 
tell what he doth, or what is in him. As one can hardly 
find any thing in a house where nothing keeps its place, but 
all is cast on a heap together ; so it is in the heart where all 
things are in disorder, especially when darkness is added to 
this disorder : so that the heart is like an obscure dungeon, 
where there is but a little crevice of light, and a man must 
rather grope than see. No wonder if men mistake in search- 
ing such a heart, and so miscarry in judging their estates. 

2. Besides, many are resolved what to judge before they 
try. They use the duty but to strengthen their present 
conceits of themselves, and not to find out the truth of their 
condition. Like a bribed judge, who examines each party 
as if he would judge uprightly, when he is resolved which 
way the cause shall go before hand. Just so do men examine 
their hearts. 



120 the saint's everlasting rest. 

3. Also men try themselves by false marks and rules ; not 
knowing wherein the truth of Christianity doth consist: 
some looking beyond, and some short of the Scripture 
standard. / 

Lastly, Men frequently miscarry in this work, by setting 
on it in their own strength. As some expect the Spirit 
should do it without them ; so others attempt it themselves/ 
without seeking or expecting the help of the Spirit. Both 
these will certainly miscarry in their assurance. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

further causes of doubting among christians. 

Because the comfort of a Christian's life doth so much 
consist in his assurance of God's special love, and because 
the right way of obtaining it is so much controverted, I will 
here proceed a little further in opening to you some other 
hinderances which keep us Christians from comfortable 
certainty. 

1. One great cause of doubting and uncertainty is, the 
weakness of our grace. A little grace is next to none. Small 
things are hardly discerned. Most content themselves with 
a small measure of grace, and do not follow on to spiritual 
strength and manhood. They believe so weakly, and love 
God so little, that they can scarce find whether they believe 
and love at all. Like a man in a swoon, whose pulse and 
breathing is so weak, that they can hardly be perceived 
whether they move at all, and consequently whether the 
man be alive or dead. 

The chief remedy for such would be, to follow on their 
duty till their graces be increased : ply your work : wait 
upon God in the use of his prescribed means, and he will 
undoubtedly bless you with increase. O that Christians 
would bestow most of that time in getting more grace, 
which they bestow in anxious doubtings, whether they have 
any or none; and that they would lay out those serious 
affections in praying and seeking to Christ for more grace, 
which they bestow in fruitless complaints ! I beseech thee, 
take this advice as from God ! and then, when thou believest 
strongly, and lovest fervently, thou canst not doubt whether 
thou believe and love or not : no more than a man that is 
burning hot can doubt whether he be warm : or a man that 
is strong and lusty can doubt whether he be alive. 

2. Many a soul lieth long under doubting, through the 
imperfection of their very reason, and exceeding weakness of 
their natural parts. Grace doth usually rather employ our 
faculties on better objects, than add to the degree of their 



THE SAINT ? S EVERLASTING REST. 121 

natural strength. Many honest hearts have such weak heads, 
that they know not how to perform the work of self trial : 
they are not able to argue the case ; they will acknowledge 
the premises, and yet deny the apparent conclusion. Or if 
they be brought to acknowledge the conclusion, yet they 
do but stagger in their concession, and hold it so weakly, 
that every assault may take it from them. If God do not 
some other way supply to these men the defect of their 
reason, I see not _ how they should have clear and settled 
peace. 

3. Another common cause of doubting and discomfort is, 
the secret maintaining some known sin. 

When a man liveth in some unwarrantable practice, and 
God hath oft touched him for it, and yet he continueth it, it 
is no wonder if this person want both assurance and comfort. 
One would think that a soul that is so tender as to tremble, 
should be as tender of sinning : and yet sad experience tell- 
eth us that it is frequently otherwise. I have known too 
many such, that would complain and yet sin, and accuse 
themselves, and yet sin still, yea, and despair, and yet pro- 
ceed in sinning: and all arguments and means could not 
keep them from the wilful committing of that sin again and 
again, which yet they themselves did think would prove their 
destruction. Yea, some will be carried away with those sins 
that seem most contrary to their dejected temper. I have 
known them that would fill men's ears with the constant 
lamentations of their miserable state, and accusations against 
themselves, as if they had been the most humble people in 
the world ; and yet be as passionate in the maintaining their 
innocency when another accuseth them, and as intolerably 
peevish, and tender of their reputation in anything they are 
blamed for, as if they were the proudest persons on earth. 

This cherishing sin doth hinder assurance these four ways: 

1. It doth abate the degree of oar graces, and so makes 
them undiscernible. 

2. It obscureth that which it destroyeth not ; for it beareth 
such sway, that grace is not seen to stir, nor scarce heard 
speak, for the noise of this corruption. 

3. It putteth out or darkeneth the eye of the soul, and it 
benumbeth and stupifieth it. 

4. But especially it provoketh God to withdraw himself, 
his comforts, and the assistance of the Spirit, without which 
we may search long enough before we have assurance. God 
hath made a separation betwixt sin and peace. As long as 
thou dost cherish thy pride, thy love of the world, the desires 
of the flesh, or any unchristian practice, thou expectest 
assurance and comfort in vain. God will not encourage 
thee by his precious gifts in a course of sinning. This worm 

11 



122 the saint's everlasting rest. 

will be gnawing upon thy conscience : it will be a devouring 
canker to thy consolations. Thou mayest steal a spark of 
false comfort from thy worldly prosperity or delight: or 
thou mayest have it from some false opinions, or from the 
delusions of Satan ; but from God thou wilt have no comfort. 
However an Antinomian may tell thee, that thy comforts 
have no dependence upon thy obedience, nor thy discomforts 
upon thy disobedience ; and therefore may speak peace to 
thee in the course of thy sinning ; yet thou shalt find by 
experience that God will not. If any man set up his idols 
in his heart, and put the stumbling block of his iniquity 
before his face, and cometh to a minister, or to God, to 
inquire for assurance and comfort, God will answer that 
man by himself, and instead of comforting him, he will set 
his face against him, " he will answer him according to the 
multitude of his idols." 

5. Another common cause of want of assurance and com- 
fort is, when men grow lazy in the spiritual part of duty. 
As Dr. Sibbs saith truly, " It is the lazy Christian commonly 
that lacketh assurance." The way of painful duty is the 
way of fullest comfort. Christ carrieth all our comforts in 
his hand : if we are out of that way where Christ is to be 
met, we are out of the way where comfort is to be had. 

These two ways doth this laziness debar us of our com- 
forts : — 

1. By stopping the fountain, and causing Christ to with- 
hold this blessing from us. Parents use not to smile upon 
children in their neglects and disobedience. So far as the 
Spirit is grieved, he will suspend his consolation. Assurance 
and peace are Christ's great encouragements to faithfulness 
and obedience ; and therefore (though our obedience do not 
merit them, yet) they usually rise and fall with our diligence 
in duty. They that have entertained the Antinomian dotage 
to cover their idleness and viciousness, may talk their non- 
sense against this at. pleasure, but the laborious Christian 
knows it by experience. As prayer must have faith and 
fervency to procure its success, besides the bloodshed and 
intercession of Christ, so must all other parts of our obedi- 
ence. He that will say to us in that triumphing day, " Well 
done, good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of 
thy Lord;" will also comfort his servants in their most 
affectionate and spiritual duties, and say, " Well done, good 
and faithful servant, take this foretaste of thy everlasting 
joy." If thou grow seldom, and customary, and cold in 
duty, especially in thy secret prayers to God, and yet findest 
no abatement in thy joys, I cannot but fear that thy joys are 
either carnal or diabolical. 

2 The action of the soul upon such excellent objects doth 



123 

naturally bring consolation with it. The very act of loving 
God in Christ, doth bring inexpressible sweetness into the 
soul. The soul that is best furnished with grace when it is 
not in action, is like a lute well stringed and tuned, which, 
while it lieth still, doth make no more music than a common 
piece of wood ; but when it is taken up and handled by a 
skilful lutist, the melody is delightful. Some degree of 
comfort follows every good action, as heat accompanies 
fire, and as beams and influence issue from the sun : which 
is so true, that the very heathens upon the discharge of a 
good conscience, have found comfort and peace answerable. 
This is praemium ante praemium : a reward before the reward. 

As a man therefore that is cold should not stand still and 
say, I am so cold that I have no mind to labour, but labour 
till his coldness be gone, and heat excited ; so he that wants 
the comfort of assurance, must not stand still and say, I 
am so doubtful and uncomfortable, that I have no mind for 
duty ; but ply his duty, and exercise his graces, till he finds 
his doubts and discomforts vanish. 

And thus I have shown you the chief causes why so many 
Christians enjoy so little assurance and consolation. 



CHAPTER IX. 

CONTAINING DIRECTIONS FOR EXAMINATION, AND SOME MARKS 
OF TRIAL. 

I will not stand here to lay down the directions necessary 
for preparation to this duty, because you may gather them 
from what is said concerning the hinderances : for the con- 
traries of those hinderances will be the most necessary helps. 
Only before you set upon it, I advise you to the observation 
of these rules : — 

1. Come not with too peremptory conclusions of yourselves 
beforehand. Do not judge too confidently before you try. 

2. Be sure to be so well acquainted with the Scripture as 
to know what is the tenor of the covenant of grace, and 
what are the conditions of justification and glorification, 
and consequently what are sound marks to try thyself by. 

3. Be a constant observer of the temper and motions of 
thy heart : most of the difficulty of the work doth lie in 
true and clear discerning of it. Be watchful in observing 
the actings both of grace and corruption, and the circum- 
stances of their actings: as, how frequent? how violent? 
how strong or weak were the outward incitements? how 
great or small the impediments ? what delight, or loathing, 
or fear, or reluctancy, did go with those acts? 

1. Empty thy mind of all thy other cares and thoughts, 



124 the saint's everlasting rest. 

that they do not distract or divide thy mind. This work will 
be enough at once of itself, without joining others with it. 

2. Then fall down before God, and in hearty prayer, 
desire the assistance of his Spirit, to discover to thee the 
plain truth of thy condition, and to enlighten thee in the 
whole progress of the work. 

I will not digress to warn you here of the false rules and 
marks of trial of which you must beware. But I will briefly 
adjoin some marks to try your title to this rest. 

1. Every soul that hath a title to this rest, doth place his 
happiness in it, and make it the ultimate end of his soul. 
This is the first mark ; which is so plain a truth, that I need 
not stand to prove it. For this rest consisteth in the full 
and glorious enjoyment of God ; and he that maketh not 
God his ultimate end, is in heart a pagan and vile idolater. 

Let me ask thee then, Dost thou truly account it thy chief 
happiness to enjoy the Lord in glory, or dost thou not ? 
Canst thou say with David, "The Lord is my portion? 
And whom have I in heaven but thee? And whom in earth 
that I desire in comparison of thee ?" If thou be an heir of 
rest, it is thus with thee. Though the flesh will be pleading 
for its own delights, and the world will be creeping into 
thine affection, yet in thy ordinary, settled, prevailing judg- 
ment and affections, thou preferrest God before all things in 
the world. 

1. Thou makest him the end of thy desires and endea- 
vours : the very reason why thou hearest and prayest, why 
thou desirest to live and breathe on earth, is this, that thou 
mayest seek the Lord. Thou seekest first the kingdom of 
G d and its righteousness : though thou dost not seek it so 
zealously as thou shouldst; yet hath it the chief of thy 
desires and endeavours : and nothing else is desired or pre- 
ferred before it. 

2. Thou wilt think no labour or suffering too great to 
obtain it. And though the flesh may sometimes shrink, yet 
art thou resolved and content to go through all. 

3. If thou be an heir of rest, thy valuation of it will be so 
high, and thy affection to it so great, that thou wouldst not 
exchange thy title to it, and hopes of it, for any worldly 
good whatsoever. If God would set before thee an eternity 
of earthly pleasure on one hand, and the rest of the saints 
on the other, and bid thee take thy choice : thou wouldst 
refuse the world, and choose this rest. 

But if thou be yet in the flesh, then it is clean contrary 
with thee. Then dost thou in thy heart prefer thy worldly 
happiness before God : and though thy tongue may say, 
that God is the chief good, yet thy heart doth not so esteem 
him. For, 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 125 

1. The world is the chief end of thy desires and endea- 
vours ; thy very heart is set upon it ; thy greatest care and 
labour is to maintain thy estate, or credit, or fleshly delights. 
But the life to come hath little of thy care or labour. Thou 
didst never perceive so much excellency in the unseen glory 
as to draw thy heart so after it ; but that little pains which 
thou bestowest that way, it is but in the second place. God 
hath but the world's leavings, and that time and labour 
which thou canst spare from the world, or those few cold 
and careless thoughts which follow thy constant, earnest, 
and delightful thoughts of earthly things ; neither wouldst 
thou do any thing at all for heaven, if thou knewest how to 
keep the world : but lest thou shouldst be turned into hell, 
when thou canst keep the world no longer, therefore thou 
wilt do something. 

2. Therefore it is that thou thinkest the way of God too 
strict, and wilt not be persuaded to the constant labour of 
walking according to the gospel rule : and when it comes to 
trial, that thou must forsake Christ or thy worldly happi- 
ness, and the wind which was in thy back doth turn in thy 
face, then thou wilt venture heaven rather than earth, and 
(as desperate rebels use to say) thou wilt rather trust God's 
mercy for thy soul, than man's for thy body ; and so deny 
thy obedience to God. 

3. And certainly if God would but give thee leave to live 
in health and wealth for ever on earth, thou wouldst think 
it a better state than rest : let them seek for heaven that 
would, thou wouldst think this thy chiefest happiness. This 
is thy case if thou be yet an unregenerate person, and hast 
no title to the saints' rest. 

The second mark which I shall give thee, to try whether 
thou be an heir of rest, is this : 

As thou , 4 takest God for thy chief good,, so thou dost 
heartily accept of Christ for thy only Saviour and Lord to 
bring thee to this rest. The former mark was the sum of 
the first and great command of the law of nature, [" Thou 
shalt love the Lord thy God."] This second mark is the 
sum of the command or condition of the gospel, [" Believe 
in the Lord Jesus, and thou shalt be saved."] And the 
performance of these two is the whole sum or essence of 
godliness and Christianity. Observe therefore the parts of 
this mark, which is but a definition of faith. 

1. Dost thou find that thou art naturally a lost condemned 
man, for thy breach of the first covenant ? And believe that 
Jesus Christ is the mediator who hath made a sufficient 
satisfaction to the law ? And hearing in the gospel that he 
is offered without exception unto all, dost thou heartily 
consent that he alone shall be thy Saviour ? and no further 

11* 



126 the saint's everlasting rest. 

trust to thy duties and works, than as conditions required 
by him, and means appointed in subordination to him ? Not 
looking at them as in the least measure able to satisfy the 
course of the law, or as a legal righteousness, nor any part 
of it ? But art content to trust thy salvation on the redemp- 
tion made by Christ ? 

2. Art thou also content to take him for thy only Lord 
and King, to govern and guide thee by his laws and Spirit? 
and to obey him even when he commandeth the hardest 
duties, and those which most cross the desires of the flesh ? 
Is it thy sorrow when thou breakest thy resolution herein? 
And thy joy when thou keepest closest in obedience to him? 
Wouldst thou not change thy Lord and Master for all the 
world ? Thus it is with every true Christian. But if thou 
be an unbeliever, it is far otherwise. Thou mayest caU 
Christ thy Lord and thy Saviour : but thou never foundest 
thyself so lost without him, as to drive thee to trust him, 
and lay thy salvation on him alone : or at least thou didst 
never heartily consent that he should govern thee as thy 
Lord ; nor resign up thy soul and life to be ruled by him ; 
nor take his word for the law of thy thoughts and actions. 
It is like thou art content to be saved from hell by Christ 
when thou diest ; but in the mean time he shall command 
thee no further than will stand with thy credit, or pleasure, 
or worldly estate and ends. And if he would give thee leave, 
thou hadst far rather live after the world and flesh, than 
after the word and Spirit. And though thou mayest now 
and then have a motion or purpose to the contrary ; yet this 
that I have mentioned is the ordinary desire and choice of 
thine heart : and so thou art no true believer in Christ : for 
though thou confess him in words, yet in works thou dost 
deny him, " being disobedient, and to every good work a 
disapprover and a reprobate," Tit. i, 16. This is the case oi 
those that shall be shut out of the saints' rest. 



CHAPTER X. 

the reason of the saints' afflictions here. 

A further use which we must make of the present doc 
trine is, to inform us why the people of God suffer so much 
in this life. What wonder ? when you see their rest doth 
yet remain ; they are not yet come to their resting place- 
We would all fain have continual prosperity, because it is 
pleasing to the flesh ; but we consider not the unreasonable- 
ness of such desires. We are like children, who if they see 
any thing which their appetite desireth, cry for it ; and if 
you tell them that it is unwholesome, or hurtful for them, 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 127 

they are never the more quieted ; or if you go about to heal 
any sore that they have, they will not endure you to hurt 
them, though you tell them that they cannot otherwise be 
healed ; their sense is too strong for their reason, and there- 
fore reason doth little persuade them. Even so it is with 
us when God is afflicting us : he giveth us reasons why we 
must bear it, so that our reason is oft convinced and satisfied, 
and yet we cry and complain still : it is not reason, but ease 
that we must have : spiritual remedies may cure the spirit's 
maladies ; but that will not content the flesh. 

But methinks Christians should have another palate than 
that of the flesh, to try and relish providences by : God hath 
given them the Spirit to subdue the flesh. And therefore I 
shall here give them some reasons of God's dealing in their 
present sufferings, whereby the equity and mercy therein 
may appear : and they shall be only such as are drawn from 
the reference that these afflictions have to our rest ; which 
being a Christian's happiness and ultimate end, will direct 
him in judging of all estates and means. 

1. Consider then, that labour and trouble are the common 
way to rest, both in the course of nature and of grace. Can 
there possibly be rest without motion and weariness ? Do 
you not travel and toil first, and then rest afterwards ? The 
day for labour goes first, and then the night for rest doth 
follow. Why should we desire the course of grace to be 
perverted, any more than we would do the course of nature ? 
God did once dry up the sea to make a passage for his people ; 
and once made the sun in the firmament to stand still : but 
must he do so always ? or as oft as we would have him ? It 
is his established decree, " That through many tribulations 
we must enter into the kingdom of heaven," Acts xiv, 22. 
" And that if we suffer with him, we shall also be glorified 
with him," 2 Tim. ii, 12. And what are we, that God's statutes 
should be reversed for our pleasure ? As Bildad said to Job, 
chapter xviii, 4, " Shall the earth be forsaken for thee? or 
the rock be removed out of his place ?" so must God pervert 
his established order for thee ? 

2. Consider also, that afflictions are exceeding useful to 
us, to keep us from mistaking our resting place, and so taking 
up short of it. A Christian's motion heaven ward, is volun- 
tary, and not constrained. Those means therefore are most 
profitable to him, which help his understanding and will in 
this prosecution. The most dangerous mistake that our souls 
are capable of is, to take the creature for God, and earth for 
heaven. And yet, alas, how common is this ! Though we 
are ashamed to speak so much with our tongues, yet how 
oft do our hearts say, " It is best being here !" And how 
contented are we with an earthly portion ! So that I fear 



128 the saint's everlasting rest. 

God would displease most of us more to afflict us here, and 
promise us rest hereafter, than to give us our hearts' desire 
on earth, though he had never made us a promise of heaven. 
As if the creature without God were better than God with- 
out the creature. Alas, how apt are we, like foolish children, 
when we are busy at our sports and worldly employments, 
to forget both our Father and our home ! Therefore it is a 
hard thing for a rich man to enter into heaven, because it is 
hard for him to value it more than earth, and not think he 
is well already. Come to a man that hath the world at will, 
and tell him, u This is not your happiness, you have higher 
things to look after;" and how little will he regard you? 
But When affliction comes, it speaks convincingly, and will 
be heard when preachers cannot. 

Sometimes a sincere man begins to be lifted up with 
applause ; and sometimes being in health and prosperity, 
he hath lost his relish of Christ, and the joys above; till 
God break in upon his riches, and scatter them abroad, or 
upon his children, or upon his conscience, or upon the health 
of his body, and break down his mount which he thought 
so strong: and then, when he lieth in Manasseh's fetters, or 
is fastened to his bed with pining sickness, O what an oppor- 
tunity hath the Spirit to plead with his soul ! When the 
world is worth nothing, then heaven is worth something. 

How oft have I been ready to think myself at home, till 
sickness hath roundly told me, I was mistaken ! And how 
apt yet to fall into the same disease, which prevaileth till 
it be removed by the same cure ! If our dear Lord did not 
put these thorns into our bed, we should sleep out our lives, 
and lose our glory. 

3. Consider, afflictions are God's most effectual means to 
keep us from straggling out of the way to our rest. If he 
had not set a hedge of thorns on the right hand and on the 
left, we should hardly keep the way to heaven. If there be 
but one gap open without these thorns, how ready are we 
to turn out at it ! But when we cannot go astray but these 
thorns will prick us, perhaps we will be content to hold the 
way When we grow wanton, or worldly, or proud, what a 
notable means is sickness, or other affliction, to reduce us ! 
It is every Christian, as well as Luther, that may call afflic- 
tion one of his best schoolmasters. Many a one, as well as 
David, may say by experience, " Before I was afflicted I 
went astray, but now have I kept thy precepts." Many a 
thousand poor recovered sinners may cry, O healthful sick- 
ness ! O comfortable sorrows ! O gainful losses ! O enriching 
poverty ! O blessed day that ever I was afflicted ! It is not 
only " the pleasant streams, and the green pastures, but his 
rod and staff also that are our comfort." Though I know 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 129 

it is the word and Spirit that do the work ; yet certainly the 
time of suffering is so opportune a season, that the same 
word will take them then, which before was scarce observ- 
ed : it doth so unbolt the door of the heart, that a minister 
or a friend may then be heard, and the word may have 
easier entrance to the affections. 

4. Consider, afflictions are God's most effectual means to 
make us mend our pace in the way to our rest. They are 
his rod, and his spur : what sluggard will not awake and 
stir when he feeleth them ? It were well if mere love would 
prevail with us, and that we were rather drawn to heaven 
than driven : but seeing our hearts are so bad, that mercy 
will not do it, it is better we be put on with the sharpest 
scourge, than loiter out our time till the doors are shut. 

O what a difference is there betwixt our prayers in health 
and in sickness ! betwixt our prosperity and adversity repent- 
ings ! He that before had not a tear to shed, or a groan to 
utter, now can sob, and sigh, and weep : he that was wont 
to lie like a block in prayer, and scarce minded what he said 
to God : now affliction presseth him down, how earnestly 
can he beg ! How doth he mingle his prayers and his tears 1 
and cry out, what a person he will be, if God will but hear 
him and deliver him ! Alas ! if we did not sometimes feel 
the spur, what a slow pace would most of us hold toward 
heaven ! 

Seeing then what our vile natures require, why should we 
be unwilling God should do us good by sharp means ? Sure 
that is the best dealing for us, which surest and soonest doth 
further us for heaven. I leave thee,* Christian, to judge by 
thy own experience, whether thou dost not go more watch- 
fully, and lively, and speedily in thy way to rest, in thy 
sufferings, than thou dost in thy more pleasing and pros- 
perous state. 

Lastly, Consider God doth seldom give his people so sweet 
a foretaste of their future rest, as in their deep afflictions. 
He keepeth his most precious cordials for the time of our 
greatest faintings and dangers. God is not so lavish of his 
choice favours as to bestow them unseasonably: he gives 
them at so fit a time, when he knoweth they are needful, 
and will be valued ; and when he is sure to be thanked for 
them, and his people rejoiced by them. Especially, when 
our sufferings are more directly for his cause, then doth he 
seldom fail of sweetening the bitter cup. Therefore have 
the martyrs been possessors of the highest joys, and there- 
fore were they so ambitious of martyrdom. I do not think 
that Paul and Silas did ever sing more joyfully, than when 
they were sore with scourgings, and fast in the inner prison, 
with their feet in the stocks. When did Christ preach such 



130 the saint's everlasting rest. 

comforts to his disciples, and assure them of his providing 
them mansions with himself, but when he was ready to leave 
them, and their hearts were sorrowful because of his depart- 
ure ? When did he appear among them, and say, " Peace 
be unto you," but when they were shut up together for fear 
of the persecuting Jews ? When did Stephen see heaven 
opened, but when he was giving up his life for the testimony 
of Jesus ? And though we be never put to the suffering of 
martyrdom, } r et God knoweth that in our natural sufferings 
we need support. 

Seeing then that the time of affliction is the time of our 
most pure, spiritual, and heavenly joy, for the most part ; 
why should a Christian think it so bad a time ? Is not that 
our best estate, wherein we have most of God ? Why else 
do we desire to come to heaven? If we look for a heaven of 
fleshly delights, we shall find ourselves mistaken. Conclude 
then, that affliction is not so bad a state in our way to rest 
as the flesh would make it. Are we wiser than God ? Doth 
not he know what is good for us better than we ? Or is he 
not as careful of our good, as we are of our own ? Ah wo 
to us if he were not much more! and if he did not love us 
better than we love either him or ourselves ! 

But let us hear a little what it is that we can object. 

1. Oh, saith one, I could bear any other affliction save 
this : if God had touched me in any thing else, I could have 
undergone it patiently ; but it is my dearest friend, or child, 
or wife, or my health itself. 

I answer, It seemeth God hath hit the right vein, where 
thy most inflamed, distempered blood did lie : it is his con- 
stant course to pull down men's idols, and take away that 
which is dearer to them than himself. There it is that his 
jealousy is kindled ; and there it is that the soul is most 
endangered. If God should have taken from thee that which 
thou canst let go for him, and not that which thou canst 
not ; or have afflicted thee where thou canst bear it, and not 
where thou canst not; thy idol would neither have been 
discovered nor removed ; this would neither have been a 
sufficient trial to thee, nor a cure, but have confirmed thee 
in thy idolatry. 

Objection 2. Oh, but saith another, if God would but deliver 
me out of it at last, I could be content to bear it : but I have 
an incurable sickness, or I am like to live and die in poverty, 
or disgrace, or distress. 

I answer, 1. Is it nothing that he hath promised, " it shall 
work for thy good?" Romans viii, 28, and "that with the 
affliction he will make a way to escape?" that he will be 
with thee in it ? and deliver thee in the fittest manner and 
season ? 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 131 

2. Is it not enough that thou art sure to be delivered at 
death, and that with so full a deliverance ? Oh, what cursed 
unbelief doth this discover in our hearts ! that we would be 
more thankful to be turned back again into the stormy sea 
of the world, than to be safely and speedily landed at our 
rest ! And would be more glad of a few years inferior mer- 
cies at a distance, than to enter upon the eternal inheritance 
with Christ! Do we call God our chief good, and heaven 
our happiness ? and yet is it no mercy or deliverance to be 
taken hence, and put into that possession ? 

Objection 3. Oh, but saith another, if my affliction did not 
disable me for duty, I could bear it ; but it maketh me use- 
less and utterly unprofitable. 

Answer 1. For that duty which tendeth to thy own benefit, 
it doth not disable thee ; but is the greatest help that thou 
canst expect. Thou usest to complain of coldness, and 
dulness, and worldliness, and security : if affliction will not 
help thee against all these, by warning, quickening, rousing 
thy spirit, I know not what will. Sure thou wilt repent 
thoroughly, and pray fervently, and mind God and heaven 
more seriously, either now or never. 

2. As for duty to others, and service to the church, it is 
not thy duty when God doth disable thee. He may call thee 
out of the vineyard in this respect, even before he call thee 
by death. If he lay thee in the grave, and put others in thy 
place, is this any wrong to thee ? So if he call thee out 
before thy death, and set others to do the work, should thou 
not be as well content ? Must God do all the work by thee? 
Hath he not many others as dear to hirn, and as fit for the 
employment? But, alas, what deceitfulness lieth in these 
hearts ! When we have time, and health, and opportunity 
to work, then we loiter, and do our Master but poor service : 
but when he layeth affliction upon us, then we complain 
that he disableth us for his work, and yet perhaps we are 
still negligent in that part of the work which we can do. 
So, when we are in health and prosperity, we forget the 
public, and are careless of other men's miseries and wants, 
and mind almost nothing but ourselves ; but when God 
afflicteth us, though he excite us more to duty for ourselves, 
yet we complain that he disableth us for our duty to others : 
as if on a sudden we were grown so charitable, that we 
regard other men's souls more than our own! But is not 
the hand of flesh, in all this dissimulation, pleading its own 
cause ? What pride of heart is this, to think that other men 
cannot do the work as we. 1 1 as we ! Or that God cannot see 
to his church, and provide for his people, without us! 

Objection 4. Oh, but saith another, it is my friends that are 
my afflictors : they disclaim me, and will scarce look at me : 



132 the saint's everlasting rest* 

they censure me, and backbite me, and slander me, and look 
upon me with a disdainful eye ; if it were others, I could 
bear it, I look for no better from them : but when those that 
are my delight, and that I looked for comfort and refreshing 
from, when those are thorns in my sides, who can bear it? 
Answer 1. Whoever is the instrument, the affliction is from 
God, and the provoking cause from thyself; and were it not 
litter that thou look more to God and thyself? 

2. Dost thou not know, that good men are still sinful in 
part ? and that their hearts are naturally deceitful, and 
desperately wicked, as well as others ? Learn therefore a 
better lesson from the prophet, Micah vii, 5, 6, 7, " Trust not 
(too much) in a friend, nor put confidence in a guide : keep 
the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom : 
but look rather for the Lord, and wait for the God of thy 
salvation." 

3. It is likely thou hast given that love and trust to men, 
which was due only to God, or which thou hast denied him : 
and then no wonder if he chastise thee by them. If we would 
use our friends as friends, God would make them our helps 
and comforts : but when once we make them our gods, by 
excessive love and trust, then he suffers them to be our 
accusers and tormentors. It is more safe to me to have any 
creature a satan than a god; to be tormented by them than 
to idolize them. Till thou hast learned to suffer from the 
good, as well as the ungodly, never look to live a contented 
or comfortable life, nor ever think thou hast truly learned 
the art of suffering. 

Objection 5. Oh, but if I had that consolation, which you 
say God reserveth for our suffering times, I should suffer 
more contentedly : but I do not perceive any such thing. 

Answer 1. The more you suffer for righteousness 5 sake, 
the more of this blessing you may expect ; and the more 
you suffer for your own evil doing, the longer you must 
look to stay till that sweetness come. When we have by 
our folly provoked God to chastise us, shall we presently 
look that he should fill us with comfort? " That were," as 
Mr. Paul Bayn saith, " to make affliction to be no affliction." 
What good would the bitterness do us, if it be presently 
drowned in that sweetness ? It is well in such sufferings, if 
you have but supporting grace ; and if your sufferings are 
sanctified to work out your sin. 

2. Do you not neglect or resist the comforts which you 
desire? God hath filled precepts and promises, and other 
of his providences, with matter of comfort: if you overlook 
all these, and observe one cross more than a thousand mer- 
cies, who maketh you uncomfortable but yourselves? If 
you resolve you will not be comfortable as long as any 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 133 

thing aileth your flesh, you may stay till death before you 
have comfort. 

3. Have your afflictions wrought kindly with you, and 
fitted you for comfort? Have they humbled you, and 
brought you to a faithful confession and reformation of 
your beloved sin ? and made you set close to your neglect- 
ed duties? and weaned your hearts from their former idols? 
and brought them unfeignedly to take God for their portion 
and their rest? If this be not done, how can you expect 
comfort? Should God bind up the sore while it festereth 
at the bottom? It is not mere suffering that prepares you 
for comfort ; but the success and fruit of suffering upon 
your hearts. 



CHAPTER XL 

AN EXHORTATION TO THOSE THAT HAVE GOT ASSURANCE OF THIS 
REST, THAT THEY WOULD DO ALL THEY POSSIBLY CAN TO HELP 
OTHERS TO IT. 

Hath God set before us such a glorious prize as this 
everlasting rest, and made man capable of such an incon- 
ceivable happiness ? Why then do not all the children of 
this kingdom bestir themselves more to help others to the 
enjoyment of it! Alas, how little are poor souls about us 
beholden to the most of us ! We see the glory of the king- 
dom, and they do not : we see the misery and torment of 
those that miss of it, and they do not : we see them wander- 
ing quite out of the way, and know if they hold on they can 
never come there, and they discern no; this themselves. 
And yet we will not set upon them seriously, and show 
them their danger and error, and help to bring them into 
the way, that they may live. Alas, how few Christians are 
there to be found, that live as men that are made to do good, 
and that set themselves with all their might to the saving of 
souls ! No thanks to us if heaven be not empty, and if the 
souls of our brethren perish not for ever. 

But because this is a duty which so many neglect, and so 
few are convinced that God doth expect it at their hands, 
and yet a duty of so high concernment to the glory of God, 
and the happiness of men, I will speak of it somewhat the 
more largely, and show you, 1. Wherein it doth consist, 
2. What is the cause that it is so neglected. 3. Give some 
considerations to persuade you to the performance of it. and 
others to the bearing of it. 4. Apply this more particularly 
to some persons waom it doth nearly concern. 

1. I would have you well understand what is this work 
which I am persuading you to. Know then on the negative, 

12 



134 THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 

1. It is no to invade the office of the ministry, and every 
man to turn a public preacher. I would not have you go 
beyond the bounds of your calling : we see by daily experi- 
ence, what fruits those men's teaching doth bring forth, who 
run uncalled of God, and thrust themselves into the place of 
public teachers, thinking themselves the fittest for the work 
in the pride of their hearts, while they had need to be taught 
the very principles of religion. How little doth God bless 
the labours of these self-conceited intruders, even if they be 
ordained 1 

2. Neither do I persuade you to a zealous promoting of 
factions and parties, and venting of uncertain opinions, which 
men's salvation is little concerned in. Alas, what advantage 
hath the devil always got in the church by this imposture ! 
The time that should be employed in drawing men's souls 
from sin to Christ, is employed in drawing them to opinions 
and parties : when men are fallen in love with their own 
conceits, and think themselves the wisest, how diligently 
do they labour to get them followers ? as if to make a man 
a proselyte to their opinions, were as happy a work as to 
convert him to Christ ! and when they fall among the lighter, 
ignorant sort of men, whose religion is all in the brain, and 
on their tongue, they seldom fail of success. These men shall 
shortly know, that to bring a man to the knowledge and 
love of Christ, is another kind of work than to bring him to 
be baptized again, or to be of such a church, or such a side. 
Unhappy are the souls that are taken in their snare ; who, 
when they have spent their lives in contending for the cir- 
cumstantials of religion, which should have been spent in 
studying and loving the Lord Jesus, do in the end reap an 
empty harvest, suitable to their empty profession. 

3. Nor do I persuade you to speak against men's faults 
behind their backs, and be silent before their faces, as the 
common custom of the world is. To tell other men of their 
faults, tendeth little to their reformation, if they hear it not 
themselves. To whisper men's faults to others, as it cometh 
not from love, or from an honest principle, so usually doth 
it produce no good effect; for if the party hear not of it, it 
cannot better him ; if he do, he will take it but as the reproach 
of an enemy, and not as the faithful counsel of a friend, and 
as that which is spoken to make him odious, and not to make 
him virtuous ; it tendeth not to provoke to godliness, but to 
raise contention ; for " a whisperer separateth chief friends." 
And how few shall we find that make conscience of this 
horrible sin? or that will confess it, and bewail it, when they 
are reprehended for it ? especially if men are speaking of 
their enemies, or those that have wronged them, or whom 
they suppose to have wronged them; or if it be of one that 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 135 

eclipseth their glory, or that standeth in the way of their 
gain or esteem; or if it be one that differeth from them in 
judgment ; or of one that is commonly spoke against by 
others ; who is it that maketh any conscience of backbiting 
such as these? And you shall ever observe, that the for- 
warder they are to backbiting, the more backward always 
to faithful admonishing ; and none speak less of a man's 
faults to his face, than those that speak most of them behind 
his back. 

So far am I from persuading therefore to this preposterous 
course, that I would advise you to oppose it wherever you 
meet with it. See that you never hear a man speaking 
against his neighbour behind his back, (without some special 
cause or call,) but presently rebuke him : ask him, Whether 
he hath spoke those things in a way of love to his face ? If 
he hath not, ask him, How he dare to pervert God's pre- 
scribed order, who eommandeth to rebuke our neighbour 
plainly, and to tell him his fault first in private, and then 
before witness, till he see whether he will be won or not ? 
And how he dare do as he would not be done by ? 

The duty therefore that I would press you t'» is of another 
nature, and it consisteth in these things following : 

1. That you get your hearts affected with the misery of 
your brethren's souls ; be compassionate toward them; yearn 
after their salvation. If you did earnestly long after their 
conversion, and your hearts were fully set to do them good, 
it would set you on work, and God would usually bless it. 

2. Take all opportunities that possibly you can, to instruct 
and help them to the attaining of salvation. And, lest you 
should not know how to manage this work, let me tell you 
more particularly what you are herein to do. 1. If it be an 
ignorant person you have to deal with, who is an utter 
stranger to the mysteries of religion, and to the work ot 
regeneration, the first thing you have to do is, to acquaint 
him with these doctrines : labour to make him understand 
wherein man's chief happiness doth consist ; and how far 
he was once possessed of it ; and what law and covenant 
God then made with him; and how he broke it; and what 
penalty he incurred, and what misery he brought himself 
into thereby : teach him what need men had of a Redeemer ; 
and how Christ in mercy did interpose, and bear the penalty; 
and what covenant now he hath made with man ; and on 
what terms only salvation is now to be attained ; and what 
course Christ taketh to draw men to himself; and what are 
the riches and privileges that believers have in him. 

If, when he understands these things, he be not moved by 
them ; or if you find that the stop lieth in his will and affec- 
tions, and in the hardness of his heart, and in the interest 



136 the saint's everlasting rest. 

that the flesh and the world have got in him ; then show 
him the excellency of the glory which he neglecteth, and 
the intolerableness of the loss of it, and the extremity and 
eternity of the torments of the damned, and how certainly 
they must endure them ; and how just it is for their wilful 
refusals of grace ; and how heinous a sin it is to reject such 
free and abundant mercy, and to tread under foot the blood 
of the covenant : show him the certainty, nearness, and 
terrors of death and judgment, and the vanity of all things 
below, which now he is taken up with ; and how little they 
will bestead him in that time of his extremity: show him 
that by nature he himself is a child of wrath, an enemy to 
God ; and by actual sin much more : show him the vile and 
heinous nature of sin ; the absolute necessity he standeth in 
of a Saviour ; the freeness of the promise ; the fulness of 
Christ ; the sufficiency of his satisfaction ; his readiness to 
receive all that are willing to be his ; and the authority and 
dominion which he hath purchased over us : show him also 
the absolute necessity of regeneration, faith, and holiness ; 
how impossible it is to have salvation by Christ without 
these ; and what they are, and the true nature of them. 

If, when he understandeth all this, you find his soul 
enthralled in false hopes, persuading himself that he is a 
true believer, and pardoned, and reconciled, and shall be 
saved by Christ, and all this upon false grounds, (which 1 is 
a common case,) then urge him hard to examine his state: 
show him the necessity of trying ; the danger of being de- 
ceived; the commonness and easiness of mistaking through 
the deceitfulness of the heart ; the extreme madness of put- 
ting it to a blind venture ; or of resting in negligent or wilful 
uncertainty ; help him in trying himself ; produce some 
undeniable evidences from Scripture; ask him whether these 
be in him or not? Whether ever he found such workings or 
dispositions in his heart ? Urge him to a rational answer : 
do not leave him till you have convinced him of his misery ; 
and then seasonably and wisely show him the remedy. 

If he produces some gifts, or duties, or works, know to 
what end he doth produce them : if to join with Christ in 
composing him a righteousness, show him how vain and 
destructive they are : if it be by way of evidence to prove 
his title to Christ, show him wherein the life of Christianity 
doth consist, and how far he must go further, if he will be 
Christ's disciple. In the mean time, that he be not dis- 
couraged with hearing of so high a measure, show him the 
way by which he must attain it ; be sure to draw him to 
the use of all means ; set him on hearing and reading the 
word, calling upon God, accompanying the godly ; persuade 
him to leave his actual sin, and to get out of all ways of 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 137 

temptation, especially to forsake ungodly company, and to 
wait patiently on God in the use of means ; and show him 
the strong hopes that in so doing he may have a blessing; 
this being the way that God will be found in. 

If you perceive him possessed with any prejudices against 
the way of holiness, show him their falsehood, and with 
wisdom and meekness answer his objections. 

If he be addicted to delay duties he is convinced of, or 
laziness and stupidity endanger his soul, then lay it on more 
powerfully, arid set home upon his heart the most piercing 
considerations, and labour to fasten them as thorns in his 
conscience, that he may find no ease or rest till he change 
his estate. 

But because in all works the manner of doing them is of 
greatest moment, and the right performance doth much 
further the success, I will here adjoin a few directions, which 
you must be sure to observe in this work of exhortation ; 
for it is not every advice that useth to succeed, nor any 
manner of doing it that will serve the turn. Observe there- 
fore these rules : 

1. Set upon the work sincerely, and with right intentions. 
Let thy end be the glory of God in the party's salvation. 
Do it not to get a name or esteem to thyself ; or to bring 
men to depend upon thee ; or to get thee many followers ; 
do not as many parents and masters will do, viz. rebuke their 
children and servants for those sins that displease them, and 
are against their profit or their humours, as disobedience, 
unthriftiness, unmannerliness ; but never seek in the right 
way that God hath appointed to save their souls. But be 
sure the main end be to recover them from misery, and 
bring them into the way of eternal rest. 

2. Do it speedily: as you would not have them delay 
their return, so do not thou delay to seek their return. You 
are purposing long to speak to such an ignorant neighbour, 
and to deal with such a scandalous sinner, and yet you have 
never done it. Alas, he runs on the score all this while ; he 
goes deeper in debt ; wrath is heaping up ; sin taketh root- 
ing ; custom doth more fasten him ; engagements to sin grow 
stronger and more numerous ; conscience grows seared ; the 
heart grows hardened : while you delay, the devil rules and 
rejoiceth ; Christ is shut out ; the Spirit is repulsed ; God is 
daily dishonoured ; his law is violated ; he is without a 
servant, and that service from him which he should have ; 
time runs on ; the day of visitation hasteth ; death and 
judgment are at the door; and what if the man die and 
miss of heaven, while you are purposing to teach him and 
help him to it? If in case of his bodily distress, you must 
not bid him go, and come again to-morrow, when you have 

12* 



138 the saint's everlasting rest* 

it by yon ; how much less may you delay the succour o£ 
his soul ? If once death snatch him away, he is then out of 
the reach of your charity. That physician is no better than 
a murderer, that negligently delayeth till his patient be 
dead, or past cure. Delay in duty is a great degree of dis- 
obedience, though you afterwards perform it. It shows an 
ill heart that is indisposed to the work. O how many a. 
poor sinner perisheth, or grows rooted> and next to incura- 
ble in sin, while we are purposing to seek their recovery!: 
Opportunities last not always. When thou hearest that the 
sinner is dead, or removed, or grown obstinate, will not 
conscience say to thee, How knowest thou but thou mightest 
have prevented the damnation of a soul ? Lay by excuses. 
then, and all lesser business, and obey God's command, 
" Exhort one another daily, while it is called to-day, lest, 
any be hardened through the deceitfuiness. of sin. 55 

3, Let thy exhortation proceed from compassion and 
love, and let the manner of it clearly show the person thou 
dealest with that it does. It is not jeering, or scorning,, 
or reproaching a man for his fault, that is a likely way to 
work hi^ reformation; nor is it the right way to convert 
him to God, to rail at him, and vilify him with words of 
disgrace. Men will take them for their enemies that thus, 
deal with them > and the words of an enemy are little per-, 
suading. Lay by your passion, therefore, and go to poor 
sinners with tears in your eyes^ that they may see you indeed, 
believe them tabe miserable, and that you unfeignedly pity 
their case ; deal with them with earnest humble entreatings. 
Let them see that your very bowels yearn over them, and 
that it is the very desire of your hearts to, do them good : 
let them perceive that you have no other end but the pro-, 
curing their everlasting happiness ; and that it is your sense 
of their danger, and your love to their souls, that forces you 
to speak ; even because you know the terrors of the Lord,, 
and for fear lest you should see them in eternal torments- 
Say to them, Why, friend, you know it is no advantage of 
my own that I seek. The way to please you, and to keep 
your friendship, were to soothe you in your own. way, or to, 
let you alone ; but love will not suffer me to see you perish,, 
and be silent ; I seek nothing at your hands but that which 
is necessary to your own happiness. It is yourself that will 
have the gain and comfort, if you come in to Christ. If men 
would thus go to every ignorant wicked neighbour they 
have, and thus deal with them, O what blessed fruit should 
we quickly see ! 

I am ashamed to hear some lazy, hypocritical wretches 
revile their poor ignorant neighbours, and separate from 
their company, and judge them unfit for their society, before 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 139 

ever they once tried them with this compasionate exhorta- 
tion! O you little know what a prevailing course this were 
like to prove! And how few of the vilest drunkards or 
swearers would prove so obstinate, as wholly to reject or 
despise the exhortations of love ! I know it must be God 
that must change men's hearts; but I know also that God 
worketh by means, and when he meaneth to prevail with 
men, he usually fitteth the means accordingly, and stirreth 
up men to plead with them in a prevailing way, and so set- 
teth in with his grace, and maketh it successful. Certainly 
those that have tried can tell you by experience, that there 
is no way so prevailing with men, as the way of compassion 
and love. So much of these as they discern in your exhort- 
ation, usually so much doth it succeed with their hearts : 
and therefore I beseech those that are faithful to practise 
this course. Alas, we see most people among us, yea those 
that would seem godly, cannot bear a reproof that comes 
not in meekness and love ! if there be the least passion, or 
relish of disgrace in it, they are ready to spit in your face. 
Yea, if you do not sweeten your reproof with fair words, 
they cannot digest it ; but their heart will rise up against 
you, instead of a thankful submission and a reformation. 
that it were not too evident that the Pharisee is yet alive in 
the breasts of many thousands that seem religious, even in 
this one point of bearing plain and sharp reproof! "They 
bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them 
on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them 
with one of their fingers,'- Matthew xxiii, 4. So far are they 
from doing, in this, as they would be done by. 

4. Another direction I would give you, is this: do it with all 
possible plainness and faithfulness. Do not dally with men, 
and hide from them their misery or danger, or any part of 
it. Do not make their sins less than they are ; nor speak of 
them in extenuating language. Do not encourage them in a 
false hope, no more than you would discourage the fond 
hopes of the righteous. If you see his case dangerous, tell 
him plainly of it: Neighbour, I am afraid God hath not yet 
renewed your soul ; and that it is yet a stranger to the great 
work of regeneration and sanctification : I doubt you are 
not yet recovered from the power of Satan to God, nor 
brought out of the state of wrath which you were born in,, 
and have lived in : I doubt you have not chosen Christ above 
all, nor set your heart upon him, nor unfeignedly taken him 
for your sovereign Lord, If you had, sure you durst not 
so easily disobey him : you could not so neglect him and 
his worship in your family and in public: you coi;ld not 
so eagerly follow the world, and talk of almost nothing but 
the things of this world, while Christ is seldom mentioned 



140 THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 

by you. If you were in Christ, you would become a new 
creature : old things would be passed away, and all things 
would become new; you would have new thoughts, and 
new talk, and new company, and new endeavours, and a 
new conversation : certainly without these you can never 
be saved : you may think otherwise, and hope better as 
long as you will, but your hopes will deceive you, and 
perish with you. Alas ! it is not as you will, nor as I will, 
who shall be saved, but it is as God will ; and God hath told 
us, that " without holiness none shall see him :" and " except 
we be born again, we cannot enter into his kingdom:" and 
" that all that would not have Christ to reign over them, 
shall be brought forth and destroyed before him." O there- 
fore look to your state in time. 

Thus must you deal roundly and faithfully with men, if 
ever you intend to do them good. It is not hovering at a 
distance in a general discourse that will serve the turn : it 
is not in curing men's souls, as in curing their bodies, where 
they must not know their danger, lest it sadden them, and 
hinder the cure. They are here agents in their own cure, 
and if they know not their misery, they will never bewail 
it, nor know how much need they have of a Saviour: if 
they know not the worst, they will not labour to prevent it j 
but will sit still or loiter till they drop into perdition, and 
will trifle out their time till it be too late: and therefore 
speak to men as Christ to the Pharisees, till they knew that 
he meant them. Deal plainly, or you do but deceive and 
destroy them. 

5. And as you must do it plainly, so also seriously, zeal- 
ously, and effectually. The exceeding stupidity and dead- 
ness of men's hearts is such, that no other dealing will 
ordinarily work. You must call aloud to awake a man in 
a swoon or lethargy. If you speak to the common sort of 
men of the evil of their sin, of their need of Christ, of the 
danger of their souls, and of the necessity of regeneration, 
they will wearily and unwillingly give you the hearing, and 
put off all with a sigh, or a few good wishes, and say, God 
forgive us> we are aU sinners, and there is an end. If ever 
you will do them good, therefore, you must sharpen your 
exhortation, and set it home, and follow it, till you have 
roused them up, and made them begin to look about them. 
Let them know that thou speakest not to them of indifferent 
things, nor about children's games, or matters of a few days 
or years continuance, nor yet about matters of uncertainty, 
which may never come to pass : but it is about the saving 
and damning of their souls and bodies ; and whether they 
shall be blessed with Christ, or tormented with devils, and 
that for ever and ever : it is how to stand before God in 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 141 

judgment, and what answer to give, and how they are like 
to speed; and this judgment and eternal state they shall 
very shortly see, they are almost at it; yet a few more 
nights and days, and they shall be at that last day ; a few 
more breaths they have to breathe, and they shall breathe 
their last ; and then as certainly shall they see that mighty 
change, as the heaven is over their heads, and the earth 
under their feet. O labour to make men know, that it is 
mad jesting about salvation or damnation : and that heaven 
and hell are not matters to be played with, or passed over 
with a few careless thoughts ! It is most certain that one of 
these days thou shalt be either in everlasting, unchangeable 
joy or torment; and doth it not awake thee? Are there so 
few that find the way of death? Is it so hard to escape? so 
easy to miscarry ? and that while we fear nothing, but 
think all is well ? And yet you sit still and trifle ! Why, 
what do you mean ? What do you think on ? The world is 
passing away ; its pleasures are fading ; its honours are 
leaving you ; its profits will prove unprofitable to you ; 
heaven or hell are a little before you; God is just and jeal- 
ous ; his threatenings are true ; the great day of his judgment 
will be terrible ; your time runs on ; your lives are uncer- 
tain ; you are far behind hand ; you have loitered long; your 
case is dangerous ; your souls are far gone in sin ; you are 
strange to God ; you are hardened in evil customs ; you have 
no assurance of comfort to show ; if you die to-morrow, 
how unready are you! And with what terror will your 
souls go out of your bodies ! And do you yet loiter ? Why, 
consider God standeth all this while waiting your leisure : 
his patience beareth; his justice forbeareth; his mercy en- 
treateth you : Christ standeth offering you his blood and 
merits ; you may have him freely, and live with him : the 
Spirit is persuading : conscience is accusing and urging you : 
ministers are praying for you, and calling upon you : Satan 
stands waiting when justice will cut off your lives, that he 
may have you : this is your time ; now or never. What ! 
had you rather lose heaven, than your profits or pleasures? 
Had you rather burn in hell, than repent on earth ? Had 
you rather howl and roar there, than pray day and night 
for mercy here ? Or have devils your tormentors, than 
Christ your governor? Will you renounce your part in 
God and glory, rather than renounce your sins ? Do you 
think a holy life too much for heaven ; or too dear a course 
to prevent endless misery ? Oh friends, what do you think 
of these things ? God hath made you men, and endued you 
with reason : do you renounce your reason where you 
should chiefly use it ? In this manner you must deal roundly 
and seriously with men. Alas ! it is not a few dull worda 



142 the saint's everlasting rest. 

between jest and earnest, between sleep and waking, as it 
were, that will waken an ignorant dead-hearted sinner. 
When a dull hearer and a dull speaker meet together, a 
dead heart and a dead exhortation^ it is unlike to have a 
lively effect. If a man fall down in a swoon, you will not 
stand trifling with him, but lay hands on him presently, and 
snatch him up, and rub him, and call aioud to him : if a 
house be on fire, you will not in a cold strain go tell your 
neighbour of it, or make an oration of the nature and danger 
of fire ; but you will run out and cry, Fire, fire : matters of 
moment must be seriously dealt with. To tell a man of his 
sins so softly as Eli did his sons, or reprove him so gently 
as Jehoshaphat did Ahab, " Let not the king say so, 35 doth 
usually as much harm as good. I am persuaded the very 
manner of some men's reproof and exhortation hath hard- 
ened many a sinner in the way of destruction. To tell them 
of sin, or of heaven or hell, in a dull, easy, careless language, 
doth make men think you are not in good earnest ; but 
scarce think yourselves such things are true. O sirs, deal 
with sin as sin, and speak of heaven and hell as they are, 
and not as if you were in jest. I confess I have failed much 
in this myself; the Lord lay it not to my charge! Loath- 
ness to displease men, makes us undo them. 

6. Yet lest you run into extremes, I advise you to do it 
with discretion. Be as serious as you can ; but yet with 
wisdom. And especially you must be wise in these things 
following : 

1. In choosing the fittest season for your exhortation ; not 
to deal with men when they are in a passion, or where they 
will take it for a disgrace. Men should observe, when sin- 
ners are fittest to hear instructions. Physic must not be 
given at all times, but in season. It is an excellent example 
that Paul giveth us, Galatians ii, 2. He communicated the 
gospel to them, yet privately to them of reputation, lest he 
should run in vain. Some men would take this to be a 
sinful complying with their corruption, to yield so far to 
their pride and bashfulness, as to teach them only in private, 
because they would be ashamed to own the truth in public: 
but Paul knew how great a hinderance men's reputation is 
to their entertaining of the truth, and that the remedy must 
not only be fitted to the disease, but also to the strength of 
the patient ; and that in so doing, the physician is not guilty 
of favouring the disease, but is praiseworthy for taking the 
right way to cure. Means will work easily if you take the 
opportunity ; when the earth is soft, the plough will enter. 
Take a man when he is under affliction, or in the house of 
mourning, or newly stirred by some moving sermon, and 
then set it home, and you may do him some good, Chris* 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 143 

tian faithfulness doth require us, not only to do good when 
it falls in our way, but to watch for opportunities. 

2. Be wise also in suiting your exhortation to the quality 
and temper of the person. All meats are not for all stomachs: 
one man will vomit that up which another will digest. 1. If 
it be a learned, or ingenious rational man, you must deal 
more by convincing arguments, and less by passionate per- 
suasions. 2. If it be one that is both ignorant and stupid, 
there is need of both. 3. If one that is convinced, but not 
converted, you must use most those means that rouse the 
affections. 4. If they be obstinate and secure, you must 
reprove them sharply. 5. If they be of timorous, tender 
natures, they must be tenderly dealt with. All cannot bear 
that rough dealing that some can. Love and plainness, 
and seriousness take with all : but words of terror some can 
scare bear. 

3. You must be wise also in using the aptest expressions. 
Many a minister doth deliver most excellent matter in such 
harsh and unseeming lauguage, that it makes the hearers 
loath the food that they should live by, and laugh at a 
sermon that might make them quake ; especially if they be 
men of curious ears, and carnal hearts, and have more wit 
and parts than the speaker. And so it is in private exhort- 
ation as well as public : if you clothe the most amiable truth 
in the sordid rags of unbeseeming language, you will make 
men disdain it, though it be the offspring of God, and of the 
highest nature. 

4. Let all your reproofs and exhortations be backed with 
the authority of God.. Let the sinner be convinced that you 
speak not from yourselves, or of your own head. Show 
them the very words of Scripture for what you say : press 
them with the truth and authority of God: ask them, Whe- 
ther they believe that this is his word, and that his word is 
true. So much of God as appeareth in our words, so much 
will they take. The voice of man is contemptible -, but the 
voice of God is awful and terrible. Be sure therefore to 
make them know, that you speak nothing but what God 
hath spoken first. 

5. You must also be frequent with men in this duty of 
exhortation ; it is not once or twice that usually will prevail. 
If God himself must be constantly solicited, as if importunity 
could prevail with him when nothing else can ; and therefore 
requires us " always to pray and not to faint," the same 
course, no doubt, will be most prevailing with men. There 
fore we are commanded, " to exhort one another daily," and 
" with all long suffering: the fire is not always brought out 
of the flint at one stroke : nor men's affections kindled at 
the first exhortation." And if they were, yet if they be not 



144 THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST* 

followed, they will soon grow cold again. Weary out sinners 
with your loving and earnest entreaties ; follow them, and 
give them no rest in their sin. This is true charity, and this 
is the way to save men's souls ; and a course that will afford 
you comfort upon a review. 

6* Strive to bring all your exhortations to an issue ; stick 
not in the work done, but look after the success. I have 
long observed it in ministers and private men, that if they 
speak never so convincing words, and yet all their care is 
over when they have done their speech, pretending that 
having done their duty, they leave the issue to God ; these 
men seldom prosper in their labours : but those whose very 
heart is set upon the work, and that long to see it take for 
the hearers conversion, and use to inquire how it speeds, 
God usually blesseth their labours, though more weak. 
Labour therefore to drive all your speeches to the desired 
issue. If you are reproving sin, cease not till (if it may be) 
you have got the sinner to promise you to leave it, and to 
avoid the occasions of it : if you are exhorting to a duty, 
urge the party to promise you presently to set upon it: if 
you would draw them to Christ, leave not till you have made 
them confess that their present state is miserable, and not 
to be rested in ; and till they have subscribed to the neces- 
sity of a change ; and promised you to fall close to the use 
of means. O that all Christians would be persuaded to take 
this course with all their neighbours that are yet enslaved 
to sin, and strangers to Christ. 

7. Lastly, Be sure your example exhort as well as your 
words. Let them see you constant in all the duties you 
persuade them to : let them see in your lives that excellency 
above the world, which you persuade them to in your 
speeches. Let them see, by your constant labours for 
heaven, that you indeed believe what you would have them 
believe. 

And thus I have opened to you the first and great part of 
this duty, consisting in private exhortation, for the helping 
of poor souls to this rest that have yet no title to it ; and I 
have showed you also the mSnner how to perform it. I 
will now speak a little of the next part. 

1. Besides the duty of private admonition, you must do 
your utmost endeavours to help men to profit by the public 
ordinances. And to that end, first, do your endeavours for 
the procuring of faithful ministers where they are wanting. 
This is God's ordinary means of converting and saving. 
" How shall they hear without a preacher?" Not only for 
your own sakes, therefore, but for the poor miserable ones 
about you, do all you can to bring this to pass. Improve 
all your interest and diligence to this end. Ride, and go, 



TKE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 145 

and seek, and make friends till you prevail. Who knoweth 
how many souls may bless you, who have been converted 
by the ministry which you have procured ? It is a higher 
and nobler work of charity, than if you gave all that you 
have to relieve their bodies. 

How small a matter were it (and yet how excellent a 
work) for every gentleman of means in England, to cull out 
some one or two, or more poor boys in the country schools, 
who are the choicest wiis, and of the most pious dispositions, 
who are poor, and unable to proceed in learning; and to 
maintain them till they are fit for the ministry! It were 
but keeping a few superfluous attendants the less ; if they 
had hearts to it, it were easily spared out of their rich 
apparel, or superfluous diet ; I dare say they would not be 
sorry for it when they come to their reckoning : one sump- 
tuous feast, or one costly suit of apparel, would maintain a 
poor boy a year or two at the university, who perhaps might 
come to have more true worth in him than many a glitter- 
ing lord, and to do God more service in his church, than ever 
they did with all their estates and power. 

2. And when you enjoy the blessing of the gospel, you 
must yet use your utmost diligence, to help poor souls to 
receive the fruit of it. To which end you must draw them 
constantly to hear and attend it ; mind them often of what 
they have heard; draw them, if it be possible, to repeat it 
in their families; if that cannot be, then draw them to come 
to others that do repeat it; that so it may not die in the 
hearing. The very drawing of men into the company and. 
acquaintance of the good man, besides the benefit they have 
by their endeavours, is of singular use to the recovery of 
their souls. It is a means to take off prejudice, by confuting 
the world's slanders of the ways and people of God. Use 
therefore often to meet together, besides the more public 
meeting in the congregation ; not to vent any unsound opi- 
nions, nor at the time of public worship, nor yet to separate 
from the church whereof you are members; but the work 
which I would have you meet about is this, to repeat toge- 
ther the word which you have heard in public ; to pour out 
your joint prayers for the church and yourselves ; to join in 
cheerful singing the praises of God ; to open your scruples 
and doubts, and fears, and get resolution ; to quicken each 
other in love and heavenliness, or holy walking : and all this 
not as a separated church, but as a part of the church more 
diligent than the rest in redeeming time, and helping the 
souls of each other heaven-ward. 

3. One thing more I advise you ; if you would have souls 
saved by the ordinances, labour still to keep the ordinances 
and ministry in esteem. No man will be much wrought on 

13 



146 the saint's everlasting rest. 

by that which he despiseth. I shall confirm you herein, not 
in my own words, but in his that I know you dare not dis- 
regard, 1 Thess. v, 11-13, "Wherefore comfort yourselves 
together, and edify one another, even as ye also do. And 
we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among 
you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you, and 
to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake; 
and be at peace among yourselves." " Obey them that 
have the rule over you, and submit yourselves; for they 
watch for your souls, as those that must give an account, 
that they may do it with joy and not with grief: for that is 
unprofitable for you," Heb. xiii, 17. 

Thus you see part of your duty for the salvation of others. 

But where shall we find the man that setteth himself to it 
with all his might, and that hath set his heart upon the souls 
of his brethren, that they may be saved ? 

Let us here a little inquire what may be the causes of the 
gross neglect of this duty, that the hinderances being dis- 
covered, may the more easily be overcome. 

1. One hinderance is, men's own sinfulness and guiltiness. 
They have not been ravished themselves with the heavenly 
delights : how then should they draw others to seek them? 
They have not felt the wickedness of their own nature, nor 
their lost condition, nor their need of Christ, nor felt the 
renewing work of the Spirit : how then can they discover 
these to others ? Ah that this were not the case of many a 
learned preacher in England ! And the cause why they 
preach so frozenly ! Men also are guilty themselves of the 
sins they should reprove; and this stops their mouths, and 
maketh them ashamed to reprove. 

2. Another hinderance is, a secret infidelity prevailing in 
men's hearts. Alas, sirs, we do not sure believe men's misery; 
we do not believe sure the threatenings of God are true. Did 
we verily believe that all the unregenerate and unholy shall 
be eternally tormented, oh how could we hold our tongues 
when we are among the unregenerate : howeould we choose 
but burst out into tears when we look them in the face, as 
the prophet did when he looked upon Hazael? especially 
when they are our kindred or friends that are near and dear 
to us ? Thus doth secret unbelief consume the vigour of 
each grace and duty. Oh Christians, if you did verily 
believe that your poor neighbour, or wife, or husband, or 
child, should certainly lie for ever in the flames of hell, 
except they be thoroughly changed before death doth snatch 
them hence, would not this make you cast off all discourage- 
ments, and. lie at them day and night till they were per- 
suaded ? How could you hold your tongue, or let them 
alone another day, if this were soundly believed ? If vou 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 147 

were sure that any of your dear friends that are dead, were 
now in hell, and persuading to repentance would get him 
out again, would not you persuade him day and night, if he 
were in hearing? And why should you not do as much 
then to prevent it, while he is in your hearing, but that you 
do not believe God's word that speaks the danger? Oh 
were it not for this cursed unbelief, our own souls and our 
neighbour's would gain more by us than they do. 

3. This faithful dealing with men for their salvation, is 
much hindered also by our want of compassion to men's 
souls. We are hard hearted and cruel toward the misera- 
ble ; and therefore (as the priest and the Levite did by the 
wounded man) we look on them, and pass by. O what 
tender hearts could endure to look upon a poor, blind, forlorn 
sinner, wounded by sin, and captivated by Satan, and never 
once open their mouths for his recovery ! What though he 
be silent, and do not desire thy help ! yet his misery cries 
aloud ; misery is the most effectual suitor to one that is com- 
passionate : if God had not heard the cry of our miseries 
before he heard the cry of our prayers, and been moved by 
his own pity before he was moved by our importunity, we 
might have long enough continued the slaves of Satan. 
Alas, what pitiful sights do we daily see! The ignorant, 
the profane, the neglecters of Christ and their souls : their 
sores are open and visible to all : and yet we do not pity 
them. You will pray to God for them, in customary duties, 
that God would open the eyes, and turn the hearts, of your 
friends and neighbours; and why do you not endeavour 
their conversion if you desire it? and if you do not desire 
it, why do you ask it ? Doth not your negligence convince 
you of hypocrisy in your prayers, and of abusing the Most 
High God with your deceitful words? Your neighbours are 
near you, your friends are in the house with you, you eat, and 
drink, and work, and walk, and talk with them, and yet you 
say little or nothing to them. Why do you not pray them to 
consider and return, as well as pray to God to convert and 
turn them ? Have you as oft begged of them to think on 
their ways, and to reform, as you have taken on you to beg 
of God that they may so do? What if you should see your 
neighbour fallen into a pit, and you. should presently fall 
down on your knees, and pray God to help him out, but 
would neither put forth your hand to help him, nor once 
persuade or direct him to help himself, would not any man 
censure you to be cruel and hypocritical ? What the Holy 
Ghost saith of men's bodily miseries, I may say much more 
of the misery of their souls : " If any man seeth his brother 
In need, and shutteth up his compassion from him, how 
dwelleth the love of God in him?" Or what love hath he 



148 THE SAINT 7 S EVERLASTING REST. 

to his brother's soul ? The charity of our ignorant fore- 
fathers may rise up in judgment against us and condemn 
us : they would give all their estates almost, for so many 
masses, or pardons, to deliver the souls of their friends from 
a feigned purgatory ; and we will not as. much as admonish 
and entreat them, to save them from the certain flames of 
hell. 

4. Another hinderance is, a base man-pleasing disposition 
that is in us. We are so loath to displease men, and so 
desirous to keep in credit and favour with them, that it 
makes us neglect our own duty. A foolish physician he is, 
and a most unfaithful friend, that will let a sick man-die for 
fear of troubling him. And cruel wretches are we to our 
friends, that will rather suffer them to go quickly to hell, 
than we will anger them, or hazard our reputation with 
them. If they did but fall in a swoon, we would rub them, 
and pinch them, and never stick at hurting them. If they 
were distracted, we would bind them with chains, and we 
would please* them in nothing that tended to their hurt. 
And yet when they are beside themselves in point of salva- 
tion, and in their madness posting on to damnation, we will 
not stop them, for fear of displeasing them. " How can 
those men be Christians that love the praise and favour of 
men, more than the favour of God ?" John xii, 43. " For if 
they yet seek to please men, they are no longer the servants of 
Christ," Gal. i, 10. To win them indeed, they must become 
all things to all men ; but to please them to their destruc- 
tion, and let them perish, that we may keep our credit with 
them, is a course so base and barbarously cruel, that he that 
hath the face of a Christian should abhor it. 

5. Another common hinderance is, a sinful bashfulness* 
When we should labour to make men ashamed of their sins, 
we are ourselves ashamed of our duties. May not these 
sinners condemn us, when they will not blush to swear or 
be drunk, and we blush to tell them of it, and persuade them 
from it ? Sinners will boast of their sins, and show them in 
the open streets: and shall not we be as bold in drawing 
them from sin? Not that I would have inferiors forget their 
distance in admonishing their superiors ; but do it with all 
humility, and submission, and respect. But yet I would 
much less have them forget their duty to God and their 
friends, be they never so much their superiors : it is a thing 
that must be done. Bashfulness is unseemly in cases of flat 
necessity. And indeed it is not a work to be ashamed of; 
to obey God in persuading men from their sins to Christ, 
and helping to save their souls, is not a business for a man 
to blush at. Yet, alas, what abundance of souls have been 
neglected through the prevailing of this sin ! Even the most 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 149 

of us are heinously guilty in this point. Reader, is not this 
thy own case ? Hath not thy conscience told thee of thy 
duty many a time, and put thee on to speak to poor sinners, 
lest they perish ? And yet thou hast been ashamed to open 
thy mouth to them, and so let them alone to sink or swim ; 
believe me, thou wilt ere long be ashamed of this shame : 
O read those words of Christ,' and tremble : " He that is 
ashamed of me, and my words, before this adulterous gene- 
ration, of him will the Son of man be ashamed before his 
Father and the angels." 

6. With many also pride is a great impediment. If it were 
to speak to a great man, they would do it, so it would not 
displease him. But to go among a company of ignorant 
beggars, or mean persons, and to sit with them in a smoky, 
nasty cottage, and there to exhort them from day to day ; 
where is the person that will do it? Many will much rejoice 
if they have been instruments of converting a gentleman, 
(and they have good cause,) but for the common multitude, 
they look not after them : as if God were a respecter of the 
persons of the rich, or the souls of all were not alike to him. 
Alas, these men little consider how low Christ did stoop to 
us ! When the God of glory comes down in flesh to worms, 
and goeth preaching up and down among them from city to 
city. Not the silliest women that he thought too low to 
confer with : few rich, and noble, and wise, are called. It 
is the poor that receive the glad tidings of the gospel. 

Objection. O but, saith one, I am of so weak parts that I 
am unable to manage an exhortation ; especially to men of 
strong parts and understanding. 

I answer, 1. Set those upon the work who are more able. 
2. Yet do not think that thou art so excused thyself, but use 
faithfully that ability which thou hast ; not in teaching those 
of whom thou shouldst learn, but in instructing those that are 
more ignorant than thyself, and in exhorting those that are 
negligent in the things which they do know. If you cannot 
speak well yourself, yet you can tell them what God speak- 
eth in his word. It is not the excellency of speech that 
winneth the souls ; but the authority of God manifested by 
that speech, and the power of his word in the mouth of the 
instructer. A weak woman may tell what God saith in the 
plain passages of the word, as well as a learned man. If you 
cannot preach to them, yet you can say, Thus it is written. 
One of mean parts may remember the wisest of their duty 
when they forget it. 

Objection. It is my superior ; and is it fit for me to teach 
or leprove my betters ? Must the wife teach the husband, 
of whom the Scripture biddeth them to learn ? Or must the 
child teach the parents, whose duty it is to teach them ? 

13* 



150 the saint's everlasting rest. 

I answer, 1. It is fit that husbands should be able to teach 
their wives, and parents to teach their children; and God 
expecteth they should be so, and therefore commandeth 
the inferiors to learn of them. But if they, through their 
negligence, disable themselves, or through their wickedness 
bring their souls into such misery, then it is themselves, and 
not you, that break God's order, by bringing themselves into 
disability and misery. 

Matter of mere orders and manners must be dispensed 
with in cases of flat necessit}^ Though it were your min- 
ister, you must teach him in such a case. It is the part of 
parents to provide for their children, and not children for 
their parents; and yet if the parents fall into want, must 
not the children relieve them? It is the part of the husband 
to dispose of the affairs of the family and estate ; and yet if 
he be sick, or beside himself, must not the wife do it ? The 
rich should relieve the poor ; but if the rich fall into beggary, 
they must be relieved themselves. It is the work of a phy- 
sician to look to the health of others ; and yet if he fall sick, 
somebody must help him. So must the meanest servant 
admonish his master, and the child his parent, and the wife 
her husband, and the people their ministers, in cases of neces- 
sity. Yet, secondly, let me give you these two cautions here: 

1. That you do not pretend necessity when there is none, 
out of a mere desire of teaching. There is scarce a more 
certain discovery of a proud heart, than to be more desirous 
to teach than to learn ; especially toward those that are fitter 
to teach us. 

2. And when the necessity of your superiors doth call for 
your advice, yet do it with all possible humility, modesty, 
and meekness. Let them discern your reverence and sub- 
mission in the humble manner of your addresses to them. 
Let them perceive that you do it not out of a mere teaching 
humour, or proud self conceitedness. If a wife should tell 
her husband of sin in a masterly railing manner ; or if a 
servant reprove his master, or a child his father, in a saucy 
way, what good could be expected fiom such reproof? But 
if they should meekly and humbly open to him his sin and 
danger, and entreat him to bear with them in what God 
commandeth ; and if they could by tears testify their sense 
of his case ; what father, or master, or husband, could take 
this ill ? 

Objection. But, some may say, this will make all as preach- 
ers, and cause all to break over the bounds of their callings. 

I answer, 1. This is not taking a pastoral charge of souls, 
nor making an office or calling of it, as preachers do. 

2. And in the way of our callings, every good Christian is 
a teacher, and hath a charge of his neighbour's soul. Let i.fc- 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 151 

be only the voice of a Cain to say, " Am I my brother's 
keeper ?" I would one of these men, that are so loath that 
private men should teach them, to tell me, What if a man 
fall down in a swoon in the streets, though it be your father, 
or superior, would you not take him up presently, and use 
all means to recover him ? Or would you let him lie and 
die, and say, It is the work of the physician, and not mine : 
I will not invade the physician's calling ? In two cases every 
man is a physician ; first, in case of necessity, and when a 
physician cannot be had ; and secondly, in case the hurt be 
so small, that every man can do as well as the physician. 
And in the same two cases every man must be a teacher. 

Objection. Some will further object to put off this duty, 
that the party is so ignorant, or stupid, or careless, or rooted 
in sin, and hath been so oft exhorted in vain, that there is 
no hope. 

I answer, How know you when there is no hope ? Cannot 
God yet cure him? And have not many as far gone been 
cured ? Should not a merciful physician use means while 
there is life? And is it not inhuman cruelty in you to give 
up your friend to the devil as hopeless, upon mere back- 
wardness to your duty, or upon groundless discouragements? 
What if you had been so given up yourself when you were 
ignorant ? 

Objection. But " we must not cast pearls before swine, nor 
give that which is holy to dogs." 

I answer, That is but a favourable dispensation of Christ 
for your own safety. When you are in danger of being torn 
in pieces, Christ would have you forbear ; but what is that 
to you, that are in no such danger ? As long as they will 
hear, you have encouragement to speak, and may not cast 
them off as contemptuous swine. 

Objection. O but it is a friend that I have all my depend- 
ence on ; and by telling him of his sin and misery, I may 
lose his love, and so be undone. 

I answer, Sure no man that hath the face of a Christian 
will for shame own such an objection as this. Yet, I doubt, 
it oft prevaileth in the heart. Is his love more to be valued 
than his safety? Or thy own benefit by him than the salva- 
tion of his soul ? Or wilt thou connive at his damnation, 
because he is thy friend ? Is that thy best requital of his 
friendship ? Hadst thou rather he should burn for ever in 
hell, than thou shouldst lose his favour, or the maintenance 
thou hast from him ? 

To conclude this use, that I may prevail with every soul 
that feareth God, to use their utmost diligence to help all 
about them to this blessed rest, let me entreat you to consi- 
der these following motives : 



152 the saint's everlasting rest. 

1. Consider, Nature teacheth the communicating of good, 
and grace doth especially dispose the soul thereto ; the 
neglect therefore of this work, is a sin both against nature 
and grace. 

Would you not think that man or woman unnatural, that 
would let their children or neighbours famish in the streets, 
while they have provision at hand ? And is not he more 
unnatural, that will let his children or neighbours perish 
eternally, and will not open his mouth to save them ? Cer- 
tainly this is most barbarous cruelty. We account an 
unmerciful, cruel man, a very monster, to be abhorred of 
all. Many vicious men are too much loved in the world, 
but a cruel man is abhorred of all. Now that it may appear 
to you what a cruel thing this neglect of souls is, do but 
consider these two things : First, how great a work it is* 
Secondly, how small a matter it is that thou refusest to do 
for the accomplishing so great a work. First, It is to save 
thy brother from eternal flames, that he may not there lie 
roaring in endless remediless torments. It is to bring him 
to the everlasting rest, where he may live in inconceivable 
happiness with God. Secondly, And what is it that you 
should do to help him herein ? Why, it is to persuade him, 
and lay open to him his sin, and his duty, his misery, and 
the remedy, till you have made him willing to yield to the 
offers and commands of Christ. And is this so great a 
matter for to do, to the attaining such a blessed end ? Is 
not the soul of a husband, or wife, or child, or neighbour, 
worth a few words ? It is worth this, or it is worth nothing. 
If they lay dying in the streets, and a few words would 
save their lives, would not every man say, he was a cruel 
wretch that would let them perish rather than speak to 
them ? Even the covetous hypocrite, that James reproveth, 
would give a few words to the poor, and say, " Go and be 
warmed, and be clothed." What a barbarous, unmerciful 
wretch then art thou, that wilt not vouchsafe a few words 
of serious, sober admonition, to save the soul of thy neigh- 
bour or friend ! Cruelty and unmercifulness to men's bodies, 
is a most damnable sin ; but to their souls much more, as 
the soul is of greater worth than the body, and as eternity 
is of greater moment than this short time. 

Alas ! you do not see or feel what case their souls are in 
when they are in hell, for want of your faithful admonition. 
Little know you what many a soul may now be feeling, 
who have been your neighbours and acquaintance, and died 
in their sins, on whom you never bestowed one hour's sober 
advice for preventing their unhappiness. If you knew their 
misery, you would now do more to bring them out of hell ; 
but, alas ! it is too late, you should have done it while they 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 153 

were with you ; it is now too late. As one said of physi- 
cians, " That they were the most happy men, because all 
their good deeds and cures were seen above ground to their 
praise, but all their mistakes and neglects were buried out 
of sight ;" so I may say to you, Many a neglect of yours to 
the souls about you, may be now buried with those souls in 
hell, out of your sight, and therefore now it doth not much 
trouble you ; but, alas ! they feel it, though you feel it not. 
Jeremiah cried out, "My bowels, my bowels, I cannot hold 
my peace," because of a temporal .destruction of his people : 
and do not our bowels yearn ? And can we hold our peace 
at men's eternal destruction ? 

2. Consider, What a rate Christ did value souls at, and 
what he hath done toward the saving of them: he thought 
them worth his blood, and shall not we think them worth 
the breath of our mouths ? Will you not do a little, where 
he hath done so much ? 

3. Consider, What a deal of guilt this neglect doth lay 
upon thy soul. First, thou art guilty of the murder and 
damnation of all those souls whom thou dost neglect. ' He 
that standeth by, and seeth a man in a pit, and will not pull 
him out if he can, doth drown him. And he that standeth 
by, while thieves rob him, or murderers kill him, and will 
not help him if he can, is accessary to the fact. And so he 
that will silently suffer men to damn their souls, or will let 
Satan and the world deceive them, and not offer to help 
them, will certainly be judged guilty of damning them. And 
is not this a most dreadful consideration? O sirs, how many 
souls then have every one of us been guilty of damning! 
what a number of our neighbours and acquaintance are dead* 
in whom we discerned no signs of sanctification, and we 
never once plainly told them of it, or how to be recovered ! 
If you had been the cause but of burning a man's house 
through your negligence, or of undoing him, or destroying 
his body, how would, it trouble you as long as you lived ? 
If you had but killed a man unadvisedly, it would much 
disquiet you. We have known those that have been guilty 
of murder, that could never sleep quietly after, nor have 
one comfortable day, their own consciences did so vex and 
torment them. O what a heart must thou have, that hast 
been guilty of murdering such a multitude of precious souls ! 
Remember this, when thou lookest thy friend or carnal 
neighbour in the face ; and think with thyself, can I find in 
my heart, through my silence and negligence, to be guilty 
of his everlasting burning in hell? Methinks such a thought 
should even untie the tongue of the dumb. 

Secondly. And as you are guilty of their perishing, so are 
you of every sin which in the mean time they commit. If 



154 the saint's everlasting rest. 

they were converted, they would break off their course of 
sinning : and if you did your duty, you know not but they 
might be converted. As he that is guilty of a man's drunk- 
enness, is guilty of all the sins which that drunkenness doth 
cause him to commit : so he that is guilty of a man's con- 
tinuing unregenerate, is also guilty of the sins of his unre- 
generacy. How many curses and oaths, and other sins of a 
most heinous nature are many of you guilty of, that little 
hink of it ? You that take much pains for your own souls, 
and seem fearful of sinning, would take it ill of one that 
should tell you, that you are guilty of weekly, or daily 
whoredoms, and drunkenness, and swearing, and lying. 
And yet it is too true, even beyond all denial, by your 
neglect of helping those who do commit them. 

Thirdly. You are guilty also of all those judgments which 
those men's sins bring upon the town or country where they 
live. I know you are not such atheists, but you believe it 
is God that sendeth sickness, and famine, and war : and 
also that it is only sin that moveth him to this indignation. 
What doubt then is there, but you are the cause of judg- 
ments, who do not strive against those sins which cause 
them? God hath staid long in patience, to see if any would 
deal plainly with the sinners of the times, and so free their 
own souls from the guilt : but when he seeth that there is 
none, but all become guilty, no wonder then if he lay the 
judgment upon all. We have all seen the drunkards, and 
heard the swearers in our streets, and we would not speak 
to them : we have ail lived in the midst of an ignorant, 
worldly, unholy people, and we have not spoke to them 
with earnestness, plainness, and love; no wonder then if 
God speak in his wrath, both to them and us. Eli did not 
commit the sin himself, and yet he speaketh so coldly 
against it,-that he must bear the punishment. God locketh 
up the clouds, because we have shut up our mouths. The 
earth is grown as hard as iron to us, because we have hard- 
ened our hearts against our miserable neighbours. The 
cries of the poor for bread are loud, because our cries against 
sin have been so low. Sicknesses run apace from house to 
house, and sweep away the poor unprepared inhabitants, 
because we swept not out the sin that breedeth them. As 
Christ said in another case, Luke xix, 30, " If these should 
hold their peace, the stones would speak :" so, because we 
held our peace at the ignorance, ungodliness, and wickedness 
of our places, therefore do these plagues and judgments speak. 
4. Consider, What a thing it will be, to look upon your 
poor friends in those flames, and to think that your neglect 
was a great cause of it ! And that there was a time when 
you might have done much to prevent it. If you should 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 155 

there perish with them, it would be no small aggravation of 
your torment ! If you be in heaven, it would sure be a sad 
thought, were it possible that any sorrow could dwell there, 
to hear a multitude of poor souls, there to cry out for ever: 
O if you would but have told me plainly of my sin and 
danger, and dealt roundly with me, I might have escaped 
all this torment, and been now in rest ! O what a sad voice 
will this be ! 

5. Consider, How diligent are the enemies of these poor 
souls to draw them to hell. And if nobody be diligent in 
helping them to heaven, what is like to become of them ? 
The devil is tempting them day and night: their inward 
lusts are still working and withdrawing them : the flesh is 
still pleading for its delights and profits : their old compa- 
nions are ready to entice them to sin, and to disgrace God's 
ways and people to them, and to contradict the doctrine of 
Christ that should save them, and to increase their dislike 
of holiness. Seducing teachers are exceeding diligent- in 
sowing tares, and in drawing off the unstable from the way 
to life : and shall a seducer be so unwearied in proselyting 
poor unguarded souls to his fancies ? And shall not a sound 
Christian be much more unwearied in labouring to win men 
to Christ and life ? 

6. Consider, The neglect of this doth very deeply wound 
when conscience is awakened. When a man comes to die, 
conscience will ask him, What good hast thou done in thy 
lifetime ? The saving of souls is the greatest good ; what 
hast thou done toward this? How many hast thou dealt 
faithfully with ? I have oft observed, that the consciences 
of dying men very much wound them for this omission. 
For my own part, (to tell you my experience,) whenever I 
have been near death, my conscience hath accused me more 
for this than for any sin: it would bring every ignorant, 
profane neighbour to my remembrance, to whom I never 
made known their danger : it would tell me, thou shouldst 
have gone to them in private, and told them plainly of 
their desperate danger, without bashfulness, or daubing, 
though it had been when thou shouldst have eaten or slept, 
if thou hadst no other time : conscience would remember 
me, how at such a time, or such a time, I was in company 
with the ignorant, or was riding by the way with a wilful 
sinner, and had a fit opportunity to have dealt with him, but 
did not ; or at least did it by halves, and to little purpose. 
The Lord grant I may better obey conscience hereafter 
while I live and have time, that it may have less to accuse 
me of at death ! 

7. Consider, lastly, The happy consequences of this work, 
where it is faithfully done. To name some : 



156 the saint's everlasting rest. 

1. Yon may be instrumental in that blessed work of 
saving souls, a work that Christ came down and died for, a 
work that the angels of God rejoice in : for, saith the Holy 
Ghost, " If any of you do err from the truth, and one con- 
vert him, let him know, that he which converteth the sinner 
from the error of his way, shall save a soul from death, and 
shall hide a multitude of sins," James v, 19, 20. And how 
can God more highly honour you, than to make you instru- 
ments in so great a work ? 

2. Such souls will bless you here and hereafter. They 
may be angry with you at first ; but if your words succeed, 
they will bless the day that ever they knew you, and bless 
God that sent you to speak to them. 

3. It bringeth much advantage to yourselves : first, it will 
increase your graces both as it is a course that God will 
bless, and as it is an acting of them in this persuading of 
others ; he that will not let you lose a cup of water which 
is given for him, will not let you lose these greater works 
of charity; besides, those that have practised this duty, 
must find, by experience, that they never go on more pros- 
perously toward heaven, than when they do most to help 
others thither with them : it is not here as with worldly 
treasure, the more you give away, the less you have : but 
the more you give, the more you have : the setting forth 
Christ in his fulness to others, will warm your own hearts ; 
the opening the evil and danger of sin to others, will increase 
your hatred of it. Secondly, it will increase your glory as 
well as your grace, both as a duty which God will reward, 
(" For they that convert many to righteousness shall shine 
as the stars for ever and ever, 55 ) Dan. xii, 3, and also as we 
shall there behold them in heaven, and be their associates 
in blessedness, whom God made us here the instruments to 
convert. Thirdly, however, it will give as much peace of 
conscience, whether we succeed or not, to think that we 
were faithful, and did our best to save them, and that we 
are clear from the blood of all men. Fourthly, besides, 
that is a work, that if it succeed, doth exceedingly rejoice 
an honest heart : he that hath any sense of God's honour, 
or the least affection to the soul of his brother, must needs 
rejoice much at his conversion, whosoever be the instrument, 
but especially when God maketh ourselves the means of so 
blessed a work. 

For my own part, it is an unspeakable comfort to me, 
that God hath made me an instrument for the recovering 
of so many from bodily diseases, and saving their natural 
lives : but all this is nothing to the comfort I have in the 
success of my labours, in the conversion and confirmation 
of souls ; it is so great a joy to me, that it drowneth the 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 157 

painfullness of my daily duties, and the trouble of my daily 
languishing and bodily griefs. And maketh all these, with 
all oppositions and difficulties in my work, to be easy: and 
of all the personal mercies that ever I received, next to his 
love in Christ to my soul, I most joyfully bless him for the 
plenteous success of my endeavours upon others : O what 
fruits then might I have seen, if I had been more faithful, 
and plied the work in private and public as I ought ! I know 
we have need to be very jealous of our deceitful hearts in 
this point, lest our rejoicing should come from our pride. 
Naturally, we would every man be in the place of God, and 
have the praise of every good work ascribed to ourselves : 
but yet to imitate our Father in goodness, and to rejoice in 
that degree we attain to, is the part of every child of God. 
I tell you therefore, to persuade you from my own experi- 
ence, that if you did but know what a joyful thing it is to 
be an instrument for the saving of souls, you would set 
upon it presently, and follow it night and day through the 
greatest discouragements and resistance. 

And thus I have showed you what should persuade you 
to this duty. Let me now conclude with a word of entreaty; 
First, to all the godly in general. Secondly, to some above 
others in particular. 



CHAPTER XII. 

AN ADVICE TO SOME MORE PARTICULARLY, TO HELP OTHERS TO 
THIS REST. 

Up then, every man that hath a tongue, and is a servant of 
Christ, and do something of this your Master's work. Why 
hath he given you a tongue, but to speak in his service ? 
And how can you serve him more eminently, than in the 
saving of souls ? He that will pronounce you blessed at the 
last day, and sentence you to the kingdom prepared for you, 
because you fed him, and clothed him, and visited him in 
his members, will surely pronounce you blessed for so great 
a work as the bringing over of souls to his kingdom. He 
that saith, " The poor you have always with you," hath 
left the ungodly always with you, that you might still have 
matter to exercise your charity upon. O if you have the 
hearts of Christians, or of men, in you, let them yearn 
toward your poor, ignorant, ungodly neighbours ! Alas, 
there is but a step betwixt them and death and hell ; many 
hundred diseases are waiting ready to seize them, and if 
they die unregenerate, they are lost for ever. Have you 
hearts of rock, that cannot pity men in such a case ? If you 

14 



158 THE SAINT S EVERLASTING REST. 

believe not the word of God, how are you Christians your- 
selves ? If you do but believe it, why do you not bestir you 
to help others? Do you not care who is damned, so you be 
saved ? If so, you have as much cause to pity your own- 
selves ; for it is a frame of spirit inconsistent with grace : 
should you not rather say, as the lepers of Samaria, Is it 
not a day of glad tidings, and we sit still and hold our 
peace ? Hath God had so much mercy on you, and will 
you have no mercy on your poor neighbours ? You need 
not go far to find objects for your pity : look but into the 
streets, or into the next house to you, and you will proba- 
bly find some. Have you not a neighbour that sets his 
heart below, and neglecteth eternity ? What blessed place 
do you live in, where there is none such ? If there be not 
some of them in thine own family, it is well; and yet art 
thou silent? Dost thou live close by them, or meet them 
in the streets, or labour with them, or travel with them, or 
sit still and talk with them, and say nothing to them of their 
souls, or the life to come ? If their houses were on fire, 
thou wouldst run and help them : and wilt thou not help 
them when their souls are almost at the fire of hell? If 
thou knowest but a remedy for their diseases, thou wouldst 
tell it them, or else thou wouldst judge thyself guilty of 
their death. Cardan speaks of one that had a receipt that 
would dissolve the stone in the bladder, and he makes no 
doubt but that man is in hell, because he never revealed it 
to any before he died : what shall we say then of them that 
know the remedy for curing souls, and do not reveal it ; nor 
persuade men to make use of it ? Is it not hypocrisy to 
pray " that God's name may be hallowed," and never endea- 
vour to bring men to hallow it ? And can you pray, " Let 
thy kingdom come ;" and yet never labour for the coming 
or increase of that kingdom ? Is it not grief to your hearts 
to see the kingdom of Satan flourish, and to see him lead 
captive such a multitude of souls ? You say you are sol- 
diers of Christ: and will you do nothing against his pre- 
vailing enemies ? You pray also daily, " that his will may 
be done ;" and should you not daily then persuade men to 
do it ? You pray, " that God would forgive them their 
sins, and that he would not lead them into temptation, but 
deliver them from evil ;" and yet will you not help them 
against temptations, nor help to deliver them from the 
greatest evil? Nor help them to repent and believe, that 
they may be forgiven ? Alas, that your prayers and your 
practice should so much disagree ! Look about you there- 
fore, Christians, with an eye of compassion on the sinners 
about you ; be not like the priest or Levite that saw the 
man wounded, and passed by i God did not so pass by you, 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 159 

when it was your own case. Are not the souls of your 
neighbours fallen into the hands of Satan ? Doth not their 
misery cry out to you, Help, help ! As you have any com- 
passion toward men in the greatest misery, help ! As you 
have the hearts of men, and not of tigers in you, help ! 

But as this duty lieth upon all in general, so upon some 
more especially, according as God hath called or qualified 
them thereto. To them, therefore, more particularly, I will 
address my exhortation : whether they be such as have 
more opportunity and advantages for this work, or such as 
have better abilities to perform it. 

1. All you that God hath given more learning and know- 
ledge to, or endued with better utterance than your neigh 
bours, God expecteth this duty especially at your hand. 
The strong are made to help the weak, and those that see, 
must direct the blind. God looketh for this faithful im- 
provement of your parts and gifts, which, if you neglect, it 
w r ere better for you that you never had received them : for 
they will but further your condemnation, and be as useless 
to your own salvation as they are to others. 

2. All those that have especially familiarity with some 
ungodly men, and that have interest in them, God looks for 
this duty at their hands. Christ himself did eat and drink 
with the publicans and sinners, but it was only to be their 
physician, and not their companion. God might give you 
interest in them to this end, that you might be a means of 
their recovery. They that will not regard the words of 
another, will regard a brother, or sister, or husband, or 
wife, or near friend : besides that, the bond of friendship 
doth engage you to more kindness and compassion. 

3. Physicians that are much about dying men, should in 
a special manner make a conscience of this duty : they have 
a treble advantage. First, they are at hand. Secondly, they 
are with men in sickness and dangers, when the ear is more 
open, and the heart less stubborn than in time of health. 
He that made a scorn of godliness before, will hear counsel 
then, if ever he will hear it. Thirdly, besides, they look 
upon their physician as a man in whose hand is their life : 
or who at least may do much to save them, and therefore 
they will the more regard his advice. Therefore you that 
are of this honourable profession, do not think this a work 
beside your calling, as if it belonged to none but ministers: 
except you think it beside your calling to be compassionate, 
or to be Christians. Help to fit your patients for heaven, 
and whether you see they are for life or death, teach them 
both how-to live and how to die, and give them some physic 
for their souls, as you do for their bodies. Blessed be God 
that very many of the chief physicians of this age have, by 



160 THE SAINT S EVERLASTING REST. 

their eminent piety, vindicated their profession from the 
common imputation of atheism and profaneness. 

4. Another sort that have excellent advantage for this 
duty, are men that have wealth and authority, and are of 
great place or command in the world, especially that have 
many who live in dependence on them. O what a world 
of good might gentlemen and lords do, that have a great 
many tenants, and that are the leaders of the country, if 
they had but hearts to improve their interest and advantage I 
Little do you that are such, think of the duty that lies upon 
you in this. Have you not all honour and riches from God ? 
Is it not evident then, that you must employ them for the 
advantage of his service? Do you not know who hath said, 
" That to whom men commit much, from them they will 
expect the more ?" 

You have the greatest opportunities to do good, of most 
men in the world. Your tenants dare not contradict you, 
lest you dispossess them or their children of their habita- 
tions : they fear you more than the threatenings of the 
Scriptures ; they will sooner obey you than God. If you 
speak to them of God and their souls, you may be regarded, 
when even a minister shall be despised. O therefore as you 
value the honour of God, your own comfort, and the salva- 
tion of souls, improve your interest to the utmost for God. 
Go visit your tenants' and neighbours' houses, and see 
whether they worship God in their families, and take all 
opportunities to press them to their duties. Do not despise 
them, because they are poor or simple. Remember, God 
is no respecter of persons ; your flesh is of no better metal 
than theirs ; nor will the worms spare your faces or hearts, 
any more than theirs ; nor will your bones or dust bear the 
badge of your gentility : you must be all equals when you 
stand in judgment; and therefore help the soul of a poor 
man, 'as well as if he were a gentleman : and let men see 
that you excel others as much In piety, heavenliness, com- 
passion, and diligence in God's work, as you do in riches 
and honour. 

I confess you are like to be singular if you take this course } 
but then remember, you shall be singular in glory, for " few 
great, and mighty, and noble are called." 

5. Another sort that have special opportunity to help 
others to heaven, are the ministers of the gospel : as they 
have, or should have, more ability than others, so it is the 
very work of their calling ; and every one expecteth it at 
their hands, and will better submit to their teachers than to 
others. I intend not these instructions so much to teachers, 
as to others, and therefore I shall say but little to them; 
and if all, or most ministers among us were as faithful and 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. l6l 

diligent as some, I would say nothing. But because it is 
otherwise, let me give these two or three words of advice 
to my brethren in this office. 

1. Be sure that the recovering and saving souls, be the 
main end of your studies and preaching. O do not propound 
any low and base ends to yourselves. This is the end of 
your calling, let it be also the end of your endeavours. God 
forbid that you should spend a week's study to please the 
people, or to seek the advancing your own reputations. 
Dare you appear in the pulpit on such a business, and speak 
for yourselves, when you are sent and pretend to speak for 
Christ? Set out the work of God as skilfully as you can; 
but still let the winning of souls be yo*ur end, and always 
judge that the best means, that most conduceth to the end. 
Do not think that God is best served by a neat, starched 
oration : but that he is the able, skilful minister, that is best 
skilled in the art of instructing, convincing, persuading, and 
that is the best sermon that is best in these. Let the vigour 
also of your persuasions show that you are sensible on how 
weighty a business you are sent. Preach with that serious- 
ness and fervour as men that believe their own doctrine, 
and know their hearers must either be prevailed with or be 
damned. What you would do to save them from everlast- 
ing burning, that do while you have the opportunity, and 
price in your hand, that people may discern you mean as 
you speak ; and that you are not stage players, but preach- 
ers of the doctrine of salvation. Remember what Cicero 
saith, "That if the matter be never so combustible, yet if 
you put not fire to it, it will not burn." And what Erasmus 
saith, " That a hot iron will pierce, when a cold one will 
not." And if the wise men of the world account you mad, 
say as Paul, " If we are beside ourselves, it is to God :" and 
remember that Christ was so busy in doing of good, that 
his friends themselves began to lay hands on him, thinking 
he had been beside himself, Mark iii. 

2. The second and chief word of advice that I would give 
you, is this: do not think that all your work is in studies, 
and in the pulpit. I confess that is great ; but, alas ! it is 
but a small part of your task. You are shepherds, and 
must know every sheep, and what is their disease, and 
mark their strayings, and help to cure them, and fetch 
them home. 

O learn of Paul, Acts xx, 19, 20, 31, to preach publicly, 
and from house to house, night and day, with tears. Let 
there not be a soul in your charge that shall not be particu- 
larly instructed and watched over. Go from house to house 
daily, and inquire how they grow in knowledge and holiness, 
and on what grounds they build their hopes of salvation ; 

14* 



162 the saint's everlasting rest. 

and whether they walk uprigntly and perform the duties of 
their several relations, and use the means to increase their 
abilities. See whether they daily worship God in their 
families, and set them in -a way, and teach them how to do 
it : confer with them about the doctrines and practice of 
religion, and how they receive and profit by public teaching, 
and answer all their carnal objections; keep in familiarity 
with them, that you may maintain your interest in them, 
and improve all your int^r^st for God. See that no seducers 
creep in amongst them, or if they do, be diligent to counter- 
mine them, and preserve your people from the infection of 
heresies and schisms; or if they be infected, be diligent to 
procure their recovery ; not with passion and lordliness, but 
with patience and condescension : as Masculus did by the 
Anabaptists, visiting them in prison, where the magistrate 
had cast them, and there instructing and relieving them ; 
and though they reviled him when he came, and called him 
a false prophet, and antichristian seducer that thirsted for 
their blood, yet he would not so leave them, till at last by 
his meekness and love he had overcome them, and recovered 
many to the truth, and to unity with the church. 

If any be " weak in the faith, receive him, but not to 
doubtful disputation." If any be too careless of their duties, 
and too little savour the things of the Spirit, let them be 
pitied, and not neglected : if any walk scandalously and 
disorderly, deal with them for their recovery, with all dili- 
gence and patience, and set before them the heinousness 
and danger of their sin : if they prove obstinate, after all, 
then avoid them, and cast them off: if they be ignorant, it 
may be your fault as well as theirs ; but, however, they are 
fitter to be instructed than rejected, except they absolutely 
refuse to be taught. Christ will give you no thanks for 
keeping or putting out such from his school that are unlearn- 
ed, when their desire or will is to be taught. I confess it is 
easier to shut out the ignorant, than to bestow our pains 
night and day in teaching them ; but wo to such slothful, 
unfaithful servants. Who then is a faithful and a wise 
servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, 
to give them their meat in due season, according to every 
one's age and capacity ? " Blessed is that servant, whom 
his Lord, when he cometh, shall find so doing." O be not 
asleep while the wolf is waking ! Let your eye be quick in 
observing the dangers and strayings of your people. If 
jealousies, heart burnings, or contentions arise among them, 
quench them before they break out into raging, irresistible 
flames. As soon as you discern any to turn worldly, or 
proud, or factious, or self-conceited, or disobedient, or cold, 
and slothful in his duty, delay not, but presently make out 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 163 

for hfs recovery : remember how many are losers in the loss 
of a soul. 

3. Do not daub, or deal slightly with any. Some will not 
tell their people plainly of their sins, because they are great 
men ; as if none but the poor should be plainly dealt with : 
do not you so, but reprove them sharply, (though differently 
and with wisdom,) that they may be sound in faith. God 
doth sufficiently engage us to deal plainly ; he hath bid us 
speak and fear not : he hath promised to stand by us ; and 
he will be our security. I had rather hear from the mouth 
of Balak, " God hath kept thee from honour ;" or from 
Ahab, "Feed him with the bread and water of affliction ;" 
than to hear conscience say, Thou hast betrayed souls to 
damnation by thy cowardice and silence ; or to hear God say, 
" Their blood will I require at thy hands :" or to hear from 
Christ, the judge, " Cast the unprofitable servant into outer 
darkness, where shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth ;" 
yea, or to hear these sinners cry out against me in eternal 
fire, and with implacable rage to charge me with their 
undoing. 

And as you must be plain and serious, so labour to be 
skilful and discreet, that the manner may somewhat answer 
the excellency of the matter. How oft have I heard a 
stammering tongue, with ridiculous expressions, vain repe- 
titions, tedious circumlocutions, and unseemly pronuncia- 
tion, spoil most precious doctrine, and make the hearers 
either loath it, or laugh at it ! How common are these 
extremes, while one spoils the food of life by affectation, 
and new-fashioned mincing, and pedantic toys, either setting 
forth a little and mean matter with a great deal of froth, 
and gaudy dressing ; or hiding excellent truths in a heap of 
vain rhetoric on the other side ! How many by their slovenly 
dressing make men loath the food of life, and cast up that 
which should nourish them ! Such novices are admitted 
into the sacred function, to the hardening of the wicked, 
and the disgrace of the work of the Lord ; and those that 
are not able to speak sense or reason, are made the ambas- 
sadors of the Most High God. 

O, therefore, let me beseech you my brethren, in the 
name of the Lord, especially those that are more young 
and weak, that you tremble at the greatness of this holy 
employment, and run not up into a pulpit as boldly as into the 
market place : study and pray, pray and study, till you are 
become workmen that need not be ashamed, rightly dividing 
the word of truth, that your people may not be ashamed or 
weary to hear you : but that besides your clear unfolding 
the doctrine of the gospel, you may also be masters of your 
people's affections. It is a work that requireth your most 



164 the saint's everlasting rest. 

serious searching thoughts: running, hasty, easy studies, 
bring forth blind births. When y©u are the most renowned 
doctors in the church of God, alas, how little is it that you 
know, in comparison of all that which you are ignorant of! 

4. Be sure that your conversation be teaching as well as 
your doctrine. Do not confute your doctrine by your prac- 
tice. Be as forward in a holy and heavenly life, as you are 
in pressing it on others. Let your discourse be as edifying 
and spiritual, as you teach them theirs must be : for evil 
language give them good ; and blessing for their cursing. 
Suffer any thing, rather than the gospel and men's souls 
should suffer : " Become all things [lawful] to all men, if by 
any means you may win some." Let men see that you use 
not the ministry only for a trade to live by ; but that your 
hearts are set upon the welfare of their souls. Whatsoever 
meekness, humility, condescension, or self denial, you teach 
them from the gospel, O {each it them also by your undis- 
sembled example. This is to be guides, and pilots, and 
governors, of the church indeed. 

What an odious sight is it, to see pride and ambition 
preach humility ! and an earthly-minded man preach for 
a heavenly conversation ! 

Do I need to tell you that are teachers of others, that we 
have but a little while longer to preach ? And but a few 
more breaths to breathe ? And then we must come down, 
and be accountable for our work? Do I need to tell you, 
that we must die, and be judged as well as our people ? Or 
that justice is most severe about the sanctuary? And 
"judgment beginneth at the house of God ?" 

5. The last whom I would persuade to this great work of 
helping others to the heavenly rest, is parents and masters 
of families. All you that God hath intrusted with children 
or servants, consider what duty lieth on you for furthering 
their salvation. That this exhortation may be the more 
effectual with you, I will lay down several considerations 
for you seriously to think on. 

1. What plain and pressing commands of God are there, 
that require this great duty at your hand ! Deut. ri, 6, 7, 8, 
" And these words which I command thee this day, shall 
be in thy heart, and thou shalt teach them diligently to thy 
children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thy house, 
and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest 
down, and when thou risest up." And how well is God 
pleased with this in Abraham, Gen. xviii, 17, 19, " Shall I 
hide from Abraham that thing which I do ? For I know 
him, that he will command his children, and his household 
after him, that they shall keep the way of the Lord." 
Prav. xxii, 6, " Train up a child in the way he should go t 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 165 

and when he is old, he will not depart from it." So that 
you see it is a work that ihe Lord of heaven and earth hath 
laid upon you; and how then dare you neglect it? 

2. You will else be witnesses against your own souls : 
your great care and pains, and cost for their bodies, will 
condemn you for your neglect of their precious souls : you 
can spend yourselves in toiling and caring for their bodies, 
and even neglect your own souls, and venture them some- 
times upon unwarrantable courses, and all to provide for 
your posterity : and have you not as much reason to pro- 
vide for their souls ? Do you not believe that your children 
must be everlastingly happy or miserable? And should not 
that be forethought, in the first place ? 

3. Consider, God hath made your children to be your 
charge ; yea, and your servants too : every one will confess 
they are the minister's charge, and what a dreadful thing is 
it for them to neglect them, when God hath told them, That 
if they tell not the wicked of their sin and danger, their 
blood shall be required at that minister's hands ! and is not 
your charge as great and as dreadful as theirs ? Have not 
you a greater charge of your own families than any minis 
ter hath ? Yea, doubtless, and your duty it is to teach, and 
admonish, and reprove them, and watch over them, at your 
hands else will God require the blood of their souls. The 
greatest charge it is that ever you were intrusted with, and 
wo to you if you prove unfaithful, and betray your trust, 
and suffer them to be ignorant for want of your teaching, or 
wicked for want of your admonition or correction. 

4. Look into the dispositions and lives of your children, 
and see what a work there is for you to do. First, It is not 
one sin that you must help them against, but thousands; 
their name is legion, for they are many : it is not one weed 
that must be pulled up, but the field is overspread with 
them. Secondly, And how hard is it to prevail against any 
one of them ! They are hereditary diseases, bred in their 
natures : they are as near them as the very heart ; and how 
tenacious are all things of that which is natural ! How hard 
to teach a hare not to be afraid, or a lion or tiger not to be 
fierce ! Besides, the things you must teach them are quite 
above them ; yea, and clean contrary to the interest and 
desires of their flesh : how hard is it to teach a man to be 
willing to be poor and despised for Christ ; to deny them- 
selves, and displease the flesh ; to forgive an enemy ; to love 
those that hate us ; to watch against temptations ; to avoid 
occasions and appearances of evil ; to believe in a crucified 
Saviour ; to rejoice in tribulation ; to make God their delight 
and love ; and to have their hearts in heaven, while they 
live on earth ! I think none of this is easy ; they that think 



166 the saint's everlasting rest. 

otherwise, let them try and judge ; yet all this must be 
learned, or they are undone for ever. If you help them not 
to some trade, they cannot live in the world ; but if they 
be destitute of these things, they shall not live in heaven. 
If the mariner be not skilful, he may be drowned ; and if 
the soldier be not skilful, he may be slain : but they that 
cannot do the things above mentioned, will perish for ever; 
" For without holiness no man shall see God." O that the 
Lord would make all you that are parent? sensible, what a 
work and charge doth lie upon you ! You that neglect this 
important work, and talk to your families of nothing but 
the world, I tell you the blood of souls lies on you : make 
as light of it as you will, if you repent mot and amend, the 
Lord will shortly call you to an account for the guilt of 
your children's everlasting undoing. 

5. Think with yourselves, what a world of comfort you 
may have, if you be faithful in this duty : if you should not 
succeed, yet you have freed your own souls ; and though it 
be sad, yet you may have peace in your own consciences : 
but if you do succeed, the comfort is inexpressible. For, 
1. Good children will be truly loving to their parents ; 
when a little matter will make ungodly children cast off 
their very natural affections. 2. Good children will be most 
obedient to you; they dare not disobey you, because of 
the command of God, except you should command them 
that which is unlawful, and then they must obey God 
rather than men. 3. And if you should fall into want, they 
would be most faithful in relieving you, as knowing they 
are tied by a double bond of nature and of grace. 4. And 
they will also be helpers of your souls; they will be 
delighting you with holy conference and actions ; when 
wicked children will be grieving you with cursing, and 
swearing, or drunkenness, or disobedience. 5. But the 
greatest joy will be when you shall say, " Here am I, and 
the children thou hast given me." And are not all these 
comforts enough to persuade you to this duty? 

6. Consider further, That the very welfare of church and 
state lieth mainly on this duty of well educating children; 
and without this, all other means are like to be far less 
successful. I seriously profess to you, that I verily think 
all the sins and miseries of the land may acknowledge this 
sin for their nurse. It is not good laws and orders that will 
reform us, if the men be not good, and reformation begin 
not at home ; when children go wicked from the hands of 
their parents, in every profession they bring this fruit of 
their education with them. I tell you seriously, this is the 
cause of all our miseries in church and state, even the want 
of a holy education of children. Many lay the blame on 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 167 

this neglect, and that ; but there is none hath so great a 
hand in it as this. 

7. I entreat you that are parents, to consider what excel- 
lent advantages you have above all others for the saving of 
your children. 

1. They are under your hands while they are young, and 
tender, and flexible ; but they come to ministers when they 
are grown older, and stiffer, and settled in their ways, and 
think themselves too good to be catechised. You have a 
twig to bend, and we an oak : you have the young plants of 
sin to pluck up, and we the deep-rooted vices. The con- 
sciences of children are not so seared with a custom of 
sinning, and long resisting grace, as others. You have the 
soft and tender earth to plough in, and we have the hard 
and stony ways, that have been trodden on by many years 
practice of evil. We have a double task, first to unteach 

* them, and then to teach them better ; but you have but one. 
We must unteach them all that the world, and the flesh, 
and wicked company, and the devil, have been diligently 
teaching them in many years. You have them before they 
are possessed with prejudice against the truth : but we have 
them to teach, when they have many years lived among 
those that have taught them to think God's ways to be 
foolish. Doth not the experience of all the world show 
you the power of education ? What else makes all the 
children of the Jews to be Jews ? And all the children of 
the Turks to be Mohammedans ? And of Christians to be 
in profession Christian ? And of each sect or party in reli- 
gion to follow their parents ? Now what an advantage have 
you to use all this for the furtherance of their happiness ! 

2. Consider also, that you have the affections of your 
children more than any others : none in the world hath 
that interest in their hearts as you. You will receive that 
counsel from an undoubted friend, that you would not from 
an enemy, or a stranger. Now, your children know you 
are their friends, and advise them in love ; and they cannot 
but love you again. Nature hath almost necessitated them 
to love you. O therefore, improve this your interest in them 
for their good ! 

3. You have also the greatest authority over them. You 
may command them, and they dare not disobey you, or else 
it is your own fault, for the most part ; for you can make 
them obey you in your business ; yea, you may correct 
them to enforce obedience. Your authority also is the most 
unquestionable authority in the world. The authority of 
kings and parliaments has been disputed, but yours is past 
dispute. And therefore if you use it not to bring them to 
God, you are without excuse. 



168 the saint's everlasting rest. 

4. Besides, their dependence is on you for their main- 
tenance. They know you can either give them, or deny 
them what you have, and so punish and reward them at 
your pleasure. But on ministers or neighbours they have 
no such dependence. 

5. Moreover, you that are parents know the temper and 
inclinations of your children, what vices they are most 
inclined to, and what instruction or reproof they most need: 
but ministers cannot so well know this. 

6. Above all, you are ever with them, and so have oppor- 
tunity, as you know their faults, so to apply the remedy. 
You may be still talking to them of the word of God, and 
minding them of their state and duty, and may follow and 
set home every word of advice, as they are in the house 
with you, or in the shop, or in the field. O what an excel- 
lent advantage is this, if you have hearts to use it! Espe- 
cially you, mothers, remember this ; you are more with 
your children, while they are little ones, than their fathers : 
be you therefore still teaching them as soon as ever they 
are capable of learning : you cannot do God such eminent 
service yourselves as men ; but you may train up children 
that may do it, and then you will have part of the comfort 
and honour. What a deal of pains are you at with the 
bodies of your children more than the fathers ? And what 
do you suffer to bring them into the world ; and will not 
you be at as much pains for the saving of their souls ? You 
are naturally of more tender affections than men; and will it 
not move you to think that your children should perish for 
ever ? Therefore I beseech you, for the sake of the children 
of your bowels, teach them, admonish them, watch over them, 
and give them no rest till you have brought them to Christ. 

And thus I have showed you reason enough to make you 
diligent in teaching your children. 

Let us next hear what is usually objected against this by 
negligent men. 

Objection 1. We do not see but those children prove as 
bad as others, that are taught the Scriptures, and brought 
up so holily ; and those prove as honest men, that have none 
of this ado with them. 

Answer. Who art thou, O man, that disputest against 
God ? Hath God charged you " to teach your children 
diligently his word, speaking of it as you sit at home, and 
as you walk abroad, as you lie down, and as you rise up ;" 
and dare you reply, that it is as good let it alone? Why, 
this is to set God at defiance ; and as it were to spit in his 
face, and give him the lie. Will you take it well at your 
servants, if when you command them to do a thing, they 
should return you an answer, That they do not see but it 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. . 169 

were as good let it alone? Wretched worm! darest thou 
thus lift up thy head against the Lord that made thee, and 
must judge thee? Is it not he that commandeth thee ? If 
thou believe that this is the word of God, how darest thou 
say it is as good disobey it ? This is devilish pride indeed, 
when such sottish, sinful dust, shall think themselves wiser 
than the living God. 

2. But what if some prove bad that are well brought up ? 
It is not the generality of them. Will you say that Noah's 
family was no better than the drowned world, because there 
was one Ham in it? Nor David's, because there was one 
Absalom ? Nor Christ's, because there was one Judas ? 

3. But what if it were so ? Have men need of the less 
teaching, or the more ? You have more wit in the matters 
of this world. You will not say, I see many labour hard, 
and yet are poor, and therefore it is as good never to labour 
at all : you will not say, Many that go to school learn 
nothing, and therefore they may learn as much though 
they never go ; or many that are great tradesmen break, 
and therefore it is as good never to trade at all ; or many 
plough and sow and have nothing come up, and therefore 
it is as good never to plough more. What a fool were he 
that should reason thus ! And is not he a thousand times 
worse, that shall reason thus for men's souls ? Peter reasons 
the clean contrary way, " If the righteous scarcely be saved, 
where shall the ungodly and sinner appear ?" 1 Peter iv, 18. 
And so doth Christ, Luke xiii, 24, " Strive to enter in at the 
strait gate; for many shall seek to enter, and not be able." 
Other men's miscarriages should quicken our diligence, and 
not make us cast away ail. What should you think of that 
man that should look over into his neighbour's garden, and 
because he sees here and there a nettle or weed among 
much better stuff, should say, W T hy, you may see tkese men 
that bestow so much pains in digging and weeding, have 
weeds in their garden as well as I, that do nothing, and 
therefore who would be at so much pains ? Just thus doth 
the mad world talk. You may see now that those that 
pray, and read, and follow sermons, have their faults as 
well as we, and have wicked persons among them as well 
as we : yea, but that is not the whole garden, as yours is; 
it is but here and there a weed, and as soon as they spy it, 
they pluck it up, and cast it away. 

Objection 2. Some further object, It is the work of min- 
isters to teach both us and our children, and therefore we 
may be excused. 

Answer 1. It is first your duty, and then the minister's. 
It will be no excuse for you, because it is their work, except 
you could prove it were only theirs. Magistrates must 

15 



170 the saint's everlasting rest. 

govern both you and your children : doth it therefore follow 
that you must not govern them ? It belongs to the school- 
master to correct them, and doth it not belong also to you ? 
There must go many hands to this great work; as to the 
building of a house there must be many workmen, one to 
one part, and another to another, and one must not leave 
their part, and say it belongs to the other : so it is here in 
the instructing of your children: first, you must do your 
work, and then the minister must do his : you must be 
doing it privately, night and day ; the minister must do it 
publicly and privately, as oft as he can. 

2. But as the case now stands with ministers, they are 
disabled from doing that which belongs to their office, and 
therefore you cannot now cast your work on them. I will 
instance but in two things. 

First, It belongs to their office to govern the church, and 
to teach with authority ; and great and small are command- 
ed to obey them, Heb. xiii, 7, 17. But this is unknown, and 
hearers look on themselves as free men, that may obey or 
not at their own pleasure. People think we have authority 
to speak to them when they please to hear, and no more. 
Nay, few of the godly themselves understand the authority 
that their teachers have over them from Christ : they know 
how to value a minister's gifts, but not how they are bound 
to obey him because of his office : not that they should obey 
him in evil, nor that he should be a final decider of all con- 
troversies, nor should exercise his authority in things of no 
^moment ; but as a schoolmaster may command his scholars 
when to come to school, and what book to read, and what 
form to be of; and as they ought to obey him, and learn of 
him, and not to set their wits against his, but to take his 
word, and believe him as their teacher, till they understand 
as well as he, and are ready to leave his school; just so are 
the people bound to obey and learn of their teachers. Now 
this ministerial authority is unknown, and so ministers are 
the less capable of doing their work, which comes to pass, 
1. From the pride of man's nature, especially novices, which 
makes men impatient of the reins of guidance and command: 
% From the Popish error of implicit faith ; to avoid which, 
we are driven as far into tne contrary extreme : and 3. From 
the modesty of ministers, that are loath to show their com- 
mission, and make known their authority, lest they should 
be thought proud : as if a pilot should let the seamen run 
the ship whither they will, for fear of being thought proud 
in exercising hk authority. 

Secondly^ A fai greater clog than this doth lie upon min- 
isters, which few take notice of; and that is, the fewness 
of ministers, -and the greatness of congregations. In the 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 171 

apostles 5 time every church had a multitude of ministers, 
and so it must be again, or we shall never come near that 
primitive pattern ; and then they could preach publicly, 
and from house to house : but now, when there is but one 
or two ministers to many thousand souls, we cannot teach 
them one by one. So that you see, you have little reason 
to cast your work on the ministers, but should the more 
help them by your diligence in your several families, 
because they are already so. over-burdened. 

Objection 3. But some will sa)^ We are poor men and 
must labour for our living, and so must our children ; we 
cannot have time to teach them the Scriptures, we have 
somewhat else for them to do. 

Jlnswer. And are not poor men subject to God, as well as 
rich ? And are they not Christians ? And must they not 
give account of their ways? And have not your children 
souls to save or lose, as well as the rich? Cannot you find 
time to speak to them as they are at their work ? Have you 
not time to instruct them on the Lord's day? You can find 
time to talk idly, as poor as you are; and can you find no 
time to talk of the way to life ? You can find time on the 
Lord's day for your children to play, or walk, or talk in 
the streets, but no time to mind the life to come. Methinks 
you should rather say to your children, I have no lands to 
leave you : you have no hope of great matters here ; be sure 
therefore to make the Lord your portion, that you may be 
happy hereafter ; if you could get riches, they would shortly 
leave you, but the riches of grace and glory will be ever- 
lasting. Methinks you should say, as Peter, " Silver and 
gold I have none, but such as I have, I give you." The 
kingdoms of the world cannot be had by beggars, but the 
kingdom of heaven may. 

O what a terrible reckoning wil] many poor men have, 
when Christ shall plead his cause and judge them! May 
not he say, I made the way to worldly honours inaccessible 
to you, that you might not look after it for yourselves or 
your children ; but heaven I set open that you might have 
nothing to discourage you: I confined riches and honours 
to a [ew ; but my blood and salvation I offered to all, that 
none might say, 1 was not invited : I tendered heaven to the 
poor as well as the rich : I made no exception against the 
meanest beggar ; why then did you not come yourselves, 
and bring your children, and teach them the way to the 
eternal inheritance ? Do you say you were poor ? ] Why, I 
did not set heaven to sale for money ; I called those that 
had nothing, to take it freely : only on condition they would 
take me for their Saviour and Lord, and give up themselves 
to me in obedience and love. 



172 the saint's everlasting rest. 

What can you answer Christ, when he shall thus convince 
your Is it not enough that your children are poor and 
miserable here, but you would have them be worse foi 
everlasting ? If your children were beggars, yet if they 
were such beggars as Lazarus, they may be conveyed by 
angels into the presence of God. But believe it, as God will 
save no man because he is a gentleman, so will he save no 
man because he is a beggar. God hath so ordered it in his 
providence, that riches are common occasions of men's 
damnation, and will you think poverty a sufficient excuse? 
The hardest point in all our work is to be weaned from the 
world, and in love with heaven : and if you will not be 
weaned from it, that have nothing in it but labour and sor- 
row, you have no excuse. The poor cannot have time, and 
the rich will not have time, or they are ashamed to be so 
forward : the young think it too soon, and the old too late ; 
and thus mosi men instead of being saved, have somewhat 
to say against their salvation; and when Christ sendeth to 
invite them, they say, " I pray thee have me excused." O 
unworthy guest of such a blessed feast, and worthy to be 
turned into everlasting burnings. 

Objection 4. But some will object, We have been brought 
tip in ignorance ourselves, and therefore we are unable to 
teach our children. 

Jlnswer. Indeed this is the very sore of the land ; but is it 
not a pity that men should so receive their destruction by 
tradition ? Would you have this course to go on thus still ? 
Your parents did not teach you, and therefore you cannot 
teach your children, and therefore they cannot teach theirs : 
by this course the knowledge of God would be banished out 
of the world, and never be recovered. But if your parents 
did not teach you, why did not you learn when you came 
to age ? The truth is, you had no hearts for it, for he that 
hath not knowledge, cannot value it, or love it. But yet 
though you have greatly sinned, it is not too late, if you 
will but follow my faithful advice in these four points : 

1. Get your hearts deeply sensible of your own sin and 
misery, because of this long time which you have spent in 
ignorance and neglect. Bethink yourselves when you are 
alone; did not God make you, and sustain you" for his 
service ? Should not he have had the youth and strength of 
your spirits ? Did you live all this time at the door of eter» 
nity? What if you had died in ignorance, where had you 
been ? What a deal of time have you spent to little purpose? 
Your life is near done, and your work all undone. You are 
ready to die before you have learned to live. Should not 
God have had a better share of your lives, and your souls 
been more regarded and provided for? In the midst of these 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 173 

thoughts, cast down yourselves in sorrow, as at the feet of 
Christ; bewail your folly, and beg pardon and recovering 
grace. 

2. Then think as sadly how you have wronged your chil- 
dren. If an unthrift that hath sold all his lands, will lament 
it for his children's sake, as well as his own, much more 
should you. 

3. Next set presently to work and learn yourselves. If 
you can read, do; if you cannot, get some that can; and 
be much amongst these that will instruct you ; be not 
ashamed to be seen among learners, but be ashamed that 
you had not learned sooner. God forbid you should be so 
mad, as to say, I am now too old to learn; except you be 
too old to serve God, and be saved, how can you be too old 
to learn to be saved ? Why not rather, I am too old to 
serve the devil and the world, I have tried them too long to 
trust them any more. What if your parents had not taught 
you any trade to live by? Would not you have set your- 
selves, to learn, when you had come to age ? Remember 
that you have souls to care for, as well as your children, 
and therefore first begin with yourselves. 

4. While you are learning yourselves, teach your children 
what you do know ; and what 3^011 cannot teach them your- 
selves, put them to learn of others that can ; persuade them 
into the company of those who will be glad to instruct them. 
Have you no neighbours that will be helpful to you herein ? 
O do not keep yourselves strange to them, but go among 
them, and desire their help, and be thankful to them, that 
they will entertain you in their company. God forbid that 
you should be like those that Christ speaks of, Luke xi, 52, 
" that would neither enter into the kingdom of God them- 
selves, nor suffer those that would, to enter.' 3 God forbid 
you should be such barbarous wretches, as to hinder your 
children from being godly, and to teach them to be wicked ! 
If any thing that walks in flesh may be called a devil, I 
think it is a parent that hindereth his children from salta- 
tion : nay, I will say more, I verily think that in this they 
are far worse than the devil. God is a righteous judge, and 
will not make the devil himself worse than he is : I pray 
you be patient while you consider it, and then judge your- 
selves. They are the parents of their children, and so is not 
the devil : do you think then that it is as great a fault in 
him to seek their destruction, as in them? Is it as great a 
fault for the wolf to kill the lambs, as. for their own dams to 
do it ? Is it so horrid a fault for an enemy in war to kill a 
child, or for a bear or mad dog to kill it, as for the mother 
to dash its brains against a wall? You know it is not: do 
you think then, that it is so hateful a thing in Satan to entice 

15* 



174 the saint's everlasting rest. 

your children to sin and hell, and to discourage and dissuade 
them from holiness, as it is in you? You are bound to love 
them by nature, more than Satan is. O then, what people 
are those that will teach their children, instead of holiness, 
to curse, and swear, and rail, and backbite, to be proud and 
revengeful, to break the Lord's day, and to despise his ways, 
to speak wantonly and filthily, to scorn at holiness, and 
glory in sin ! O when God shall ask these children, Where 
learned you this language and practice ? and they shall say, 
I learned it of my father or mother : I would not be in the 
case of those parents for all the world ! Alas, is it a work 
that is worth the teaching, to undo themselves for ever? Or 
can they not without teaching learn it too easily of them- 
selves? Do you need to teach a serpent to sting, or a lion 
to be fierce ? Do you need to sow weeds in your garden ? 
Will they not grow of themselves ? To build a house 
requires skill and teaching, but a little may serve to set a 
town on fire: to heal the wounded or the sick, requireth 
skill ; but to make a man sick, or to kill him, requireih but 
little. You may sooner teach your children to swear than 
to pray ; and to mock at godliness, than to be truly godly. 
If these parents were sworn enemies to their children, and 
should study seven years, how to do them the greatest 
mischief, they could not possibly find out a surer way, than 
by drawing them to sin, and withdrawing them from God. 
I shall therefore conclude with this earnest request to all 
Christian parents that read these lines, that they would have 
compassion on the souls of their poor children, and be faith- 
ful to the great trust God hath put on them. O sirs ! if you 
cannot do what you would do for them, yet do what you 
can. Both church and state, city and country, groan under 
the neglect of this weighty duty : your children know not 
God, nor his laws ; but take his name in vain, and slight 
his worship ; and you do neither instruct them nor correct 
them, and therefore God doth correct both them and you. 
You are so tender of them, that God is the less tender both 
of them and you. Wonder not if God make you smart for 
your children's sins ; for you are guilty of all they commit, 
by your neglect of doing your duty to reform them ; even as 
he that maketh a man drunk, is guilty of all the sin that he 
committeth in his drunkenness. Will you resolve therefore 
to set upon this duty, and neglect it no longer ? Remember 
Eli : your children are like Moses in the baske-t, in the water, 
ready to perish if they have not help. As ever you would 
not be charged before God for murderers of their souls ; and 
as ever you would not have them cry out against you in 
everlasting fire, see that you teach them how to escape it, 
and bring them up in holiness, and the fear of God. 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 175 

You have heard that the God of heaven doth flatly com- 
mand it : I charge every man of you therefore, upon your 
allegiance to him, as you will very shortly answer the con- 
trary at your peril, that you will neither refuse or neglect 
this most necessary work. If you are not willing to do it, 
now you know it to be so plain and so great a duty, you 
are flat rebels, and no true subjects of Christ. If you are 
willing to do it, but know not how, I will add a few words 
of direction to help you. 

1. Teach them by your own example, as well as by your 
words. Be yourselves such as you would have them be: 
practice is the most effectual teaching of children, who are 
addicted to imitation, especially of their parents. Lead them 
the way to prayer, and reading, and other duties. Be not 
like base commanders, that will put on their soldiers, but 
not go on themselves. Can you expect your children 
should be wiser or better than you ! Let them not hear 
those words out of your mouths, nor see those practices in 
your lives, which you reprove in them. Who should lead 
the way in holiness, but the father and master of the family? 
It is a sad time when a master or father will not hinder his 
family from serving God, but will give them leave to go to 
heaven without him. 

I will but name the rest of your direct duty for your 
family. 1. You must help to inform their understandings. 
2. To store their memories. 3. To rectify their wills. 4. To 
quicken their affections. 5. To keep tender their consciences. 
6. To restrain their tongues, and help them to skill in gra- 
cious speech ; and to reform and watch over their outward 
conversation. 

To these ends, 1. Be sure to keep them, at least, so long 
at school, till they can read English. It is a thousand pities 
a reasonable creature should look upon a Bible, as upon a 
stone, or a piece of wood. 2. Get them Bibles and good 
books, and see that they read them. 3. Examine them 
often what they learn. 4. Especially spend the Lord's day 
in this work, and see that they spend it not in sports and 
idleness. 5. Show them the meaning of what they read 
and learn. 6. Acquaint them with, and keep them in com- 
pany, where they may learn good, and keep them out of 
that company that would teach them evil. 7. Be sure to 
cause thern to learn some catechism, containing the chief 
heads of divinity. 

The heads of divinity which you must teach them first, 
are these : 

1. That there is one only God, who is a Spirit, invisible, 
infinite, eternal, almighty, good, merciful, true, just, holy. 
2. That this God is one in three, Father, Son, and Holy 



176 the saint's everlasting rest. 

Ghost. 3. That he is the Maker, Maintainer, and Lord of 
all. 4. That man's happiness consisteth in the enjoying of 
this God, and not in fleshly pleasure, profits, or honours. 
5. That God made the first man upright and happy, and 
gave him a law to keep, with condition, that if he kept it 
perfectly, he should live happy for ever; but if he broke it, 
he should die. 6. That man broke this law, and so for- 
feited his welfare, and became guilty of death as to himself, 
and all his posterity. 7. That Christ the Son of God did 
here interpose, and prevent the full execution, undertaking 
to die instead of man, and so redeem him. 8. That Christ 
hereupon did make with man a better covenant, which pro- 
claimed pardon of sin to all that did but repent, and believe, 
and obey sincerely. 9. That he revealed this covenant and 
mercy to the world by degrees: first, in darker promises, 
prophecies, and sacrifices; then in many ceremonious types; 
and then by more plain foretelling by the prophets. 10. That 
in the fulness of time Christ came and took our nature into 
union with his Godhead, being conceived by the Holy Ghost, 
and born of the Virgin Mary. 11. That while he was on 
earth, he lived a life of sorrows, was crowned with thorns, 
and bore the pains that our sins deserved; at last being 
crucified to death, and buried, so satisfied the justice of God. 
12. That he also preached to the Jews, and by constant 
miracles proved the truth of his doctrines before thousands 
of witnesses : that he revealed more fully his new covenant, 
That whosoever will believe in him, and accept him for their 
Saviour and Lord, shall be pardoned and saved, and have a 
far greater glory than they lost ; and they that will not, shall 
lie under the curse and guilt, and be condemned to the ever- 
lasting fire of hell.* 13. That he rose again from the dead, 
having conquered death, and took possession of his dominion 
overall, and so ascended up into heaven, and there reign eth 
in glory. 14. That before his ascension he gave charge to 
his apostles to preach the gospel to all nations and persons, 
and to offer Christ, and mercy, and life, to every one without 
exception, and to entreat and persuade them to receive him, 
and that he gave them authority to send forth others, on the 
same message, and to baptize, and to gather churches, and 
confirm and order them, and settle a course for the succes- 
sion of ministers and ordinances to the end of the world. 
15. That he also gave them power to work frequent and 
evident miracles for the confirmation of their doctrine ; and 
to annex their writings to the rest of the Scriptures, and so 
to finish and seal them up, and deliver them to the world as 
his infallible word, which none must dare to alter, and which 
all must observe. 16. That for all his free grace is offered 
to the world, yet the heart is by nature so desperately wicked, 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 177 

that no man will believe and entertain Christ sincerely, 
except by an almighty power he be changed and born again ; 
and therefore doth Christ send forth his Spirit with his word, 
which worketh holiness in our hearts, drawing us to God 
and the Redeemer. 17. That the means by which Christ 
worketh and preserveth this grace, is the word read and 
preached, together with frequent, fervent prayer, meditation, 
sacraments, and gracious conferences ; and it is much fur- 
thered also by special providences keeping us from tempta- 
tion; fitting occurrences to our advantage, drawing us by 
mercies, and driving us by afflictions : and therefore it must 
be the great and daily care of every Christian to use faithfully 
all the ordinances, and improve all providences. 18. That 
though the new law or covenant be an easy yoke, and there 
is nothing grievous in Christ's commands, yet so bad are 
our hearts, and so strong our temptations, and so diligent 
our enemies, that whosoever will be saved, must strive, and 
watch, and bestow his utmost care and pains, and deny his 
flesh, and forsake all that would draw him from Christ and 
herein continue to the end, and overcome : and because this 
cannot be done without continual supplies of grace, whereof 
Christ is the only fountain, therefore we must live in con- 
tinual dependence on him by faith, and know " that our life 
is hid with God in him." 19. That Christ will thus by his 
word and Spirit gather him a church out of all the world, 
which is his body, and spouse, and be their head and husband, 
and will be tender of them as the apple of his eyes, and 
preserve them from danger, and continue among them his 
presence and ordinances ; and that the members of this 
church must live together in entire love and peace, delight- 
ing themselves in God, and his worship, and the forethoughts 
of their everlasting happiness ; forbearing and forgiving one 
another, and relieving each other in need ; and all men ought 
to strive to be of this society : yet will the visible churches 
"be still mixed of good and bad. 20. That when the full 
number of these are called home, Christ will come down 
from heaven again, and raise all the dead, and set them 
before him to be judged ; and all that have loved God, and 
believed in Christ, and been willing that he should reign 
over them, and have improved their mercies in the day of 
grace, them he will justify, and sentence them to inherit 
everlasting glory: and those that were not such, he will 
condemn to everlasting fire : both which sentences shall be 
then executed accordingly. 

This is the brief sum of the doctrine which you must 
teach your children. Though our ordinary creed, called 
the apostles' creed, contain all the absolute fundamentals ; 



178 the saint's everlasting rest. 

yet in some it is so generally and darkly expressed, that an 
explication is necessary. 

Then for matter of practice teach them the meaning of 
the commandments, especially of the great commands of 
the gospel; show them what is commanded and forbidden 
in the first table, and in the second, toward God and men, 
in regard of the inward and outward man. And here 
show them, 1. The authority commanding, that is, the 
Almighty God, by Christ the Redeemer. They are not now 
to look at the command as coming from God immediately, 
merely as God, or the Creator : but as coming from God, 
by Christ the Mediator, " who is now the Lord of all ;" 
seeing "the Father now judgeth no man, but hath commit- 
ted all judgment to the Son." 2. Show them the terms on 
which duty is required, and the ends of it. 3. And the 
nature of duties, and the way to perform them aright. 
4. And the right order, that they first love God, and then 
their neighbour ; " first seek the kingdom of God and his 
righteousness." 5. Show them the excellencies and delights 
of God's service. 6. And the flat necessity of all this. 
7. Especially labour to get all to their hearts, and teach 
them not only to speak the words, but to reduce them to 
practice. 

And for sin, show them its evil and danger, and watch 
over them against it. Especially, 1. The sins that youth is 
commonly addicted to. 2. And which their nature and 
constitution most lead them to. 3. And Which the time 
and place most strongly tempt to. 4. But especially be 
sure to kill their killing sins, those that all are prone to> 
and are of all most deadly; as pride, worldliness, ignorance, 
profaneness, and flesh pleasing. 

And for the manner, you must do all this; — 1. Betimes > 
before sip get rooting. 2. Frequently. 3. Seasonably. 
4. Seriously and diligently. 5. Affectionately and tenderly. 
6. And with authority: compelling, where commanding will 
not serve ; and adding correction, where instruction is frus- 
trated. 

And thus I have done with the use of exhortation, to do 
our utmost for the salvation of others. The Lord give men 
compassionate hearts, that it may be practised, and then I 
doubt not but he will succeed it to the increase of his church. 



END OF THE SECOND PART. 



THE 

SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 

PART in. 

CONTAINING A DIRECTORY FOR THE GETTING AND KEEPING THE 

HEART IN HEAVEN, BY THE DILIGENT PRACTICE OP THAT 

EXCELLENT DUTY OF MEDITATION. 

CHAPTER L 

REPROVING OUR EXPECTATIONS OF REST ON EARTH. 

Doth this rest remain? How great then is our sin and 
folly to seek and expect it here ! Where shall we find the 
Christian that deserves not this reproof? Surely we may 
all cry guilty to this. We know not how to enjoy convenient 
houses, goods, lands, and revenues, but we seek rest in these 
enjoyments. We seldom, I fear, have such sweet and con- 
tenting thoughts of God and glory, as we have of our earthly 
delights. How much rest do we seek in buildings, walks, 
apparel, ease, recreation, sleep, pleasing meats and drinks, 
company, health, and strength, and long life ? Nay, we can 
scarce enjoy the necessary means that God hath appointed 
for our spiritual good, but we are seeking rest in them. Our 
books, our preachers, sermons, friends, abilities for duty, do 
not our hearts quiet themselves in them, even more than in 
God ? Indeed, in words we disclaim, and God hath usually 
the pre-eminence in our tongues and professions : but do we 
not desire these more violently when we want them than we 
do the Lord himself? Do we not cry out more sensibly, O 
my friend, my goods, my health 1 than, O my God ! Do we 
not miss ministry and means more passionately than we 
miss our God? Do we not bestir ourselves more to obtain 
and enjoy these, than we do to recover our communion with 
God ? Do we not delight more in the possession of these, 
than we do in the fruition of God himself ? Nay, are not 
those mercies and duties more pleasant to us, wherein we 
stand at the greatest distance from God? We can read, and 
study, and confer, preach and hear, day after day, without 
much weariness ; because in these we have to do with 
instruments and creatures : but in secret prayer and con- 
versing with God immediately, where no creature inter- 
poseth, how dull, how heartless, and weary are we ! And 
if we lose creatures or means, doth it not trouble us more 
than our loss of God ? If we lose but a friend, or health, all 



180 the saint's everlasting rest. 

the town will hear of it : but we can miss our God and 
scarce bemoan our misery. Thus it is apparent, we make 
the creature our rest. It is not enough, that they are refresh- 
ing helps in our way to heaven ; but they must also be made 
our heaven itself. Reader, I would as willingly make thee 
sensible of this sin, as of any sin in the world ; for the Lord's 
greatest quarrel with us is in this point. Therefore I most 
earnestly beseech thee to press upon thine own conscience 
these following considerations : 

1. It is gross idolatry to make any creature or means our 
rest : to settle the soul upon it, and say, Now I am well, 
upon the bare enjoyment of the creature : what is this, but 
to make it onr God? Certainly, to be the soul's rest is 
God's own prerogative. And as it is palpable idolatry to 
place our rest in riches and honours ; so it is but a more 
refined idolatry to take up our rest in excellent means, in 
the church's prosperity, and in its reformation. When we 
would have all that out of God, which is to be had only in 
God ; what is this but to run away from him to the creature,, 
and in our hearts to deny him ? When we fetch more of 
our comfort from the thoughts of prosperity, and those 
mercies which we have at a distance from God, than from 
the forethoughts of our everlasting blessedness in him. Are 
we Christians in judgment, and Pagans in affection? Do we 
give our senses leave to be the choosers of our happiness, 
while reason and faith stand by ? O how ill must our dear 
Lord needs take it, when we give him cause to complain, 
as sometime he did of our fellow idolaters, Jer. i, 6, that we 
have been lost sheep, and have forgotten our resting place ! 
When we give him cause to say, My people can find rest in 
any thing rather than in me ! They can find delight in one 
another, but none in me ; they can rejoice in my creatures 
and ordinances, but not in me ; yea, in their very labours 
and duty they seek for rest, but not in me ; they had rather 
be any where than be with me. Are these their gods? 
Have these delivered and redeemed them ? Will these be 
better to them than I have been, or than I would be? If 
yourselves have but a wife, a husband, a son, that had rather 
be any where than in your company, and is never so merry 
as when furthest from you, would you not take it ill your- 
selves? Why so must our God needs do. For what do we 
but lay these things in one end of the balance, and God in, 
the other, and foolishly prefer them before him ? As Elkanah 
said to Hannah, "Am not I better to thee than ten sons?" 
So when we are longing after creatures, we may hear God 
say, Am not I better than all the creatures to thee ? 

2. Consider, How thou contradictest the end of God in 
giving these things. He gave them to help thee to him, and 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 181 

dost thou take up with them in his stead ? He gave them 
that they might be refreshments in thy journey ; and wouldst 
thou now dwell in thy inn, and go no further? Thou dost 
not only contradict God herein, but losest that benefit which 
thou mightest receive by them, yea, and makest them thy 
great hurt and hinderance. Surely, it may be said of all our 
comforts and all ordinances, and the blessedest enjoyments 
in the church on earth, as God said to the Israelites of his 
ark, Numbers x, 33, " The ark of the covenant went before 
them, to search out for them a resting place." So do all 
God's mercies here. They are not that rest, (as John pro- 
fesseth he was not the Christ,) but they are voices crying in 
this wilderness, to bid us prepare; for the kingdom of God, 
our true rest, is at hand. Therefore to rest here, were to 
turn all mercies clean contrary to their own ends, and our 
own advantages, and to destroy ourselves with that which 
should help us. 

3. Consider, Whether it be not the most probable way to 
cause God either, first, to deny those mercies which we 
desire ; or, secondly, to take from us these which we enjoy ; 
or, thirdly, to imbitter them, or curse them to us ? Certainly 
God is no where so jealous as here : if you had a servant 
whom your wife loved better than she did yourself, would 
you not take it ill of such a wife, and rid your house of such 
a servant? Why so, if the Lord see you begin to settle in 
the world, and say, Here I will rest, no wonder if he soon 
in his jealousy unsettle you. If he love you, no wonder if 
he take that from you wherewith he sees you about to 
destroy yourselves. 

It hath been long my observation of many, that when 
they have attempted great works, and have just finished 
them ; or have aimed at great things in the world, ana have 
just obtained them; or have lived in much trouble, and just 
come to begin with some content to look upon their condi- 
tion, and rest in it, they are near to death and ruin. When 
a man is once at this language, " Soul, take thy ease ;" the 
next news usually is, " Thou fool, this night," or this month, 
or this year, " shall thy soul be required of thee, and then 
whose shall these things be?" O what house is there where 
this fool dwelleth not ? Let you and I consider, whether 
this be not our own case. Have not I after such an unset- 
tled life, and after so many longings and prayers for these 
days ! Have not I thought of them with too much content, 
and been ready to say, " Soul, take thy rest ?" Have not I 
comforted myself more in the forethoughts of enjoying 
these, than of coming to heaven and enjoying God? What 
wonder then if God cut me off, when I am just sitting down 
in this supposed rest ? And hath not the like been your 

16 



182 the saint's everlasting rest. 

condition ? Many of you have been soldiers, driven from 
house and home, endured a life of trouble and blood, been 
deprived of ministry and means : did you not reckon up all 
the comforts you should have at your return ; and glad 
your hearts with such thoughts, more than with the thoughts 
of your coming to heaven ? Why, what wonder if God now 
cross you, and turn some of your joy into sadness? Many 
a servant of God hath been destroyed from the earth, by 
being over valued and over loved. I pray God you may 
take warning for the time to come, that you rob not your- 
selves of all your mercies. I am persuaded our discontents 
and murmurings are not so provoking to God, nor so 
destructive to the sinner, as our too sweet enjoying, and 
rest of spirit, in a pleasing state. If God hath crossed any 
of you in wife, children, goods, friends, either by taking 
them from you, or the comfort of them, try whether this be 
not the cause ; for wheresoever your desires stop, and you 
say, Now I am well ; that condition you make your god, 
and engage the jealousy of God against it. Whether you 
be friends to God or enemies, you can never expect that 
God should suffer you quietly to enjoy your idols. 

4. Consider, If God should suffer thee thus to take up thy 
vest here, it were one of the greatest curses that could befall 
thee: it were better for thee if thou never hadst a day of 
ease in the world : for then weariness might make thee seek 
after true rest. But if he should suffer thee to sit down and 
rest here, where were thy rest when this deceives thee ? A 
restless wretch thou wouldst be through all eternity. To 
have their good things on the earth, is the lot of the most 
miserable perishing sinners. Doth it become Christians 
then to expect so much here? Our rest is our heaven : and 
where we take our rest, there we make our heaven : and 
wouldst thou have but such a heaven as this ? It will be 
but as a handful of waters to a man that is drowning, which 
will help to destroy, but not to save him. 

5. Consider, Thou seekest rest where it is not to be found, 
anu so wilt lose all thy labour. I think I shall easily evince 
this by these clear demonstrations following : 

First, Our rest is only in the full obtaining our ultimate 
end ; but that is not to be expected in this life. Is God to 
be enjoyed in the best reformed church here, as he is in 
heaven ? You confess he is not ; how little of God, not only 
the multitude of the blind world, but sometimes the saints 
themselves, enjoy ! And how poor comforters are the best 
ordinances and enjoyments without God ! Should a traveller 
take up his rest in the way ? No, because his home is his 
journey's end. When you have all that creatures and 
means can afford, have you that you sought for? Have 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 183 

you that you believe, pray, suffer for ? I think you dare 
not say so. Why then do Ave once dream of resting here? 
We are like little children strayed from home ; and God is 
now fetching us home ; and we are ready to turn into any 
house, stay and play with every thing in our way, and sit 
down on every green bank, and much ado there is to get us 
home. 

Secondly, As we have not yet obtained our end, so are 
we in the midst of labours and dangers : and is there any 
resting here? What painful work doth lie upon our hands! 
Look to our brethren, to our souls, to God ; and what a 
deal of work in respect of each of these, doth lie before us ! 
And can we rest in our labours ? Indeed we may ease our- 
selves sometimes in our troubles ; but that is not the rest 
we are now speaking of ; we may rest on earth, as the ark 
is said to rest in the midst of Jordan, Josh, iii, 13 ; or as the 
angels of heaven are desired to turn in, and rest them on 
earth, Gen. xviii, 4. They would have been loath to have 
taken up their dwelling there. Should Israel have settled 
his rest in the wilderness, among serpents, and enemies, and 
weariness, and famine ? Should Noah have made the ark 
his home, and been loath to come forth when the waters 
were fallen? Should the mariner choose his dwelling on 
the sea, and settle his rest in the midst of rocks, and sands, 
and tempests ? Though he may adventure through all these, 
for a commodity of worth ; yet I think he takes it not for 
his rest. Should a soldier rest in the midst of fight, when 
he is in the very thickest of his enemies ? And are not 
Christians such travellers, such mariners, such soldiers ? 
Have you not fears within, and troubles without? Are we 
not in the thickest of continual dangers ? We cannot eat, 
drink, sleep, labour, pray, hear or confer, but in the midst 
of snares ; and shall we sit down and rest here ? O Chris- 
tian, follow thy work, look to thy danger, hold on to the 
end ; win the field and come off the ground, before you 4 
think of settling to rest. I read that Christ, when he was ^ 
on the cross, comforted the converted thief with this, " This 
day shalt thou be with me in paradise :" but if he had only 
comforted him with telling him, that he should rest there 
on the cross, would he not have taken it for a derision ? 
Methinks it should be ill resting in the midst of sicknesses 
and pains, persecution and distresses; one would think it 
should be no contented dwelling for lambs among wolves. 
I say therefore to every one that thinketh of rest on earth, 
" Arise ye, depart, this is not your rest." 

6. Consult with experience, both other men's and your 
own ; many thousands have made trial, but did ever one of 
these find a sufficient rest for his soul on earth ? Delights I 



to 



184 the saint's everlasting rest. 

deny not but they have found ; but rest and satisfaction they 
never found: and shall we think to find that which never 
man could find before us ? Ahab's kingdom is nothing to 
him, except he had also Naboth's vineyard, and did that 
satisfy him when he had obtained it ? If we had conquered 
the whole world, we should perhaps do as Alexander, sit 
down and weep because there was never another world to 
conquer. Go ask honour, Is there rest here? Why you 
may as well rest on the top of the tempestuous mountains, 
or in Etna's flames. Ask riches, Is there rest here ? Even 
such as is in a bed of thorns. Inquire of worldly pleasure 
and ease, can they give you any tidings of true rest ? Even 
such as the fish in swallowing the bait ; when the pleasure 
is sweetest, death is the nearest. Such is the rest that all 
worldly pleasures afford. Go to learning, to the purest, 
plentifulest, powerfulest ordinances, or compass sea and 
land to find out the most perfect church, and inquire whe- 
ther there your soul may rest? You might haply receive 
from these an olive branch of hope, as they are means to 
your rest, and have relation to eternity ; but in regard of 
any satisfaction in themselves, you would remain as restless 
as ever. O how well might all these answer us, as Jacob 
did Rachel, " Am I instead of God ?" So may the highest 
perfections on earth say, Are we instead of God ? Go, take 
a view of all estates of men in the w r orld, and see whether 
any of them have found this rest. Go to the husbandman, 
behold his endless labours, his continual care, and toil, and 
weariness, and you will easily see, that there is no rest : go 
to the tradesman, and you shall find the like : if I should 
send you lower, you would judge your labour lost : go to 
the painful minister, and there you will yet more easily be 
satisfied ; for though his spending, endless labours are 
exceeding sweet, yet it is not because they are his rest, but 
in reference to his people's, and his own eternal rest: if you 
would ascend to magistracy, and inquire at the throne, you 
would find there is no condition so restless. Doubtless 
neither court, nor country, towns or cities, shops or fields, 
treasuries, libraries, solitariness, society, studies, or pulpits, 
can afford any such thing as this rest. If you could inquire 
of the dead of all generations, or if you could ask the living 
through all dominions, they would all tell you, Here is no 
rest ; and all mankind may say, " All our days are sorrow, 
and our labour is grief, and our hearts take no rest," Eccles. 
ii, 23. 

If other men's experience move you not, do but take a 
view of your own : can you remember the estate that did 
fully satisfy you ? Or if you could, will it prove a lasting 
state ? For my own part, I have run through several states 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 185 

of life, and though I never had the necessities which might 
occasion discontent, yet did I never find a settlement for my 
soul ; and I believe we may all say of our rest, as Paul of 
our hopes, " If it were in this life only, we were of all men 
most miserable." If then either Scripture, or reason, or the 
experience of ourselves, and all the world, will satisfy us, we 
may see there is no resting here. And yet how guilty are 
the generality of us of this sin ! How many halts and stops 
do we make, before we will make the Lord our rest ! How 
must God even drive us, and fire us out of every condition, 
lest we should sit down and rest there ! If he give us pros- 
perity, riches, or honour, we do in our hearts dance before 
them, as the Israelites before their calf, and say, These are 
thy gods, and conclude it is good being here. If he imbitter 
all these to us by crosses, how do we strive to have the 
cross removed, and are restless till our condition be sweet- 
ened to us, that we may sit down again and rest where we 
were ? If the Lord, seeing our perverseness, shall now 
proceed in the cure, and take the creature quite away, then 
how do we labour, and care, and cry, and pray, that God 
would restore it, that we may make it our rest again! And 
while we are deprived of its enjoyment, and have not our 
former idol, yet rather than come to God, we delight our- 
selves in our hopes of recovering our former state ; and as 
long as there is the least likelihood of obtaining it, we make 
those very hopes our rest : if the poor by labouring all their 
days, have but hopes of a fuller estate when they are old, 
(though a hundred to one they die before they have obtained 
it,) yet do they rest themselves on those expectations. Or 
if God doth take away both present enjoyments, and all 
hopes of recovering them, how do we search about from 
creature to creature, to find out something to supply the 
room, and to settle upon instead thereof! Yea, if we can 
find no supply, but are sure we shall live in poverty, in 
sickness, in disgrace, while we are on earth, yet will we 
rather settle in this misery, and make a rest of a wretched 
being, than we will leave all and come to God. 

A man would think, that a multitude of poor people, who 
beg their bread, or can scarce wi&h their hardest labour have 
sustenance for their lives, should easily be driven from resting 
here, and willingly look to heaven for rest ; and the sick, 
who have not a day of ease, or any hope of recovery left 
them. But O the cursed averseness of our souls from God! 
We will rather account our misery our happiness, yea, that 
which we daily groan under as intolerable, than we will 
take up our happiness in God. If any place in hell were 
tolerable, the soul would rather take up its rest there, than 
come to God. Yea, when he is bringing us over to him, 

16* 



186 the saint's everlasting rest. 

and hath convinced us of the worth of his ways and service, 
the last deceit of all is here, we will rather settle upon those 
ways that lead to him, and those ordinances that speak of 
him, and those gifts which flow from him, than we will come 
clean over to himself. 

Marvel not that I speak so much of resting in these; 
beware lest it prove thy own case : I suppose thou art so 
convinced of the vanit}^ of riches, and honour, and pleasure, 
that thou canst more easily disclaim these: but for thy 
spiritual helps, thou lookest on these with less suspicion, 
and thinkest thou canst not delight in them too much, espe- 
cially seeing most of the world despise them, or delight in 
them too little. But doth not the increase of those helps 
dull thy longings after heaven ? I know the means of grace 
must be loved and valued ; and he that delighteth in any 
worldly thing more than in them, is not a Christian: but 
when we are content with duty instead of God, and had 
rather be at a sermon than in heaven ; and a member of a 
church here, than of that perfect church ; and rejoice in 
ordinances but as they are part of our earthly prosperity ; 
this is a Gad mistake. 

So far rejoice in the creature as it comes from God, or 
leads to him, or brings thee some report of his love : so far 
let thy soul take comfort in ordinances as God doth accom- 
pany them, or gives himself unto thy soul by them : still 
remembering, when thou hast even what thou dost most 
desire, yet this is not heaven; yet these are but the first 
fruits. It is not enough that God alloweth us all the comfort 
of travellers, and accordingly to rejoice in all his mercies, 
but we must set up our staff as if we were at home. While 
we are present in the body, we are absent from the Lord; 
and while we are absent from him, we are absent from our 
rest. If God were as willing to be absent from us, as we 
from him, and if he were as loath to be our rest, as we 
are loath to rest in him, we should be left to an eternal 
restless separation. In a word, as you are sensible of the 
sinfulness of your earthly discontents, so be you also of 
your irregular contents, and pray God to pardoM them much 
more. And above all the plagues and judgments of God on 
this side hell, see that you watch and pray against this, [of 
settling any where short of heaven, or reposing your souls 
on any thing below God.] Or else, when the bough which 
you tread on, breaks, and the things which you res* upon, 
deceive you, you will perceive your labour all lost, and your 
highest hopes will make you ashamed. Try if you can 
persuade Satan to leave tempting, and the world to cease 
troubling and seducing ; if you can bring the glory of God 
from above, or remove the court from heaven to earth, and 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 187 

secure the continuance of this through eternity, then settle 
yourselves below, and say, Soul, take tny rest here ; but till 
then, admit not such a thought. 



CHAPTER II. 

MOTIVES TO HEAVENLY M1NDEDNESS. 

We have now, by the guidance of the word of the Lord, 
and by the assistance of his Spirit, showed you the nature 
of the rest of the saints ; and acquainted you with some duties 
in relation thereto : we come now to the close of all, to press 
you to the great duty which I chiefly intended when I begun 
this subject. 

Is there a rest, and such a rest remaining for us ? Why 
then are our thoughts no more upon it ? Why are not our 
hearts continually there ? Why dwell we not there in 
constant contemplation ? Ask your hearts in good earnest, 
What is the cause of this neglect? Hath the eternal God 
provided us such a glory, and promised to take us up to 
dwell with himself? And is not this worth the thinking on? 
Should not the strongest desires of our hearts be after it, 
and the daily delights of our souls be there ? Can we forget 
and neglect it? What is the matter? Will not God give us 
leave to approach this light? Or will he not suffer our 
souls to taste and see it ? Then what mean ail his earnest 
invitations? Why doth he so condemn our earthly minded- 
ness, and command us to set our affections above ? If the 
forethoughts of glory were forbidden fruits, perhaps we 
should be sooner drawn unto them. Sure I am, where 
God hath forbidden us to place our thoughts and our 
delights, thither it is easy enough to draw them. If he 
say, Love not the world, nor the things of the world, we 
doat upon it nevertheless. How unweariedly can we think 
of vanity, and day after day employ our minds about it ! 
And have we no thoughts of this our rest ? How freely 
and how frequently can we think of our pleasures, our 
friends, our labours, our flesh, our studies, our news; yea, 
our very miseries, our wrongs, our sufferings, and our fears ! 
But where is the Christian whose heart is on this rest? 
What is the matter? Why are we not taken up with the 
views of glory, and our souls more accustomed to theso 
delightful meditations ? Are we so full of joy that we need 
no more; or is there no matter in heaven for our joyous 
thoughts; or rather, are not our hearts carnal and blockish ? 
Earth will tend to earth. Had we more spirit, it would be 
otherwise with us. As St. Augustin cast by Cicero's writings, 
because they contained not the name of Jesus ; so let us 



188 the saint's everlasting rest. 

humble and cast down these sensual hearts, that have in 
them no more of Christ and glory. As we should not own 
our duties any further than somewhat of Christ is in them, 
so should we no further own our hearts : and as we should 
delight in the creatures, no longer than they have reference 
to Christ and eternity, so no further should we approve of 
our own hearts. Why did Christ pronounce his disciples' 
eyes and ears blessed, but as they were the doors to let in 
Christ by his works and words into their heart ? Blessed 
are the eyes that so see, and the ears that so hear, that the 
heart is thereby raised to this heavenly frame. Sirs, so 
much of your hearts as is empty of Christ and heaven, let 
it be filled with shame and sorrow, and not with ease. 

But let me turn my reprehension to exhortation, that you 
would turn this conviction into reformation. And I have 
the more hope, because I here address myself to men of 
conscience, that dare not wilfully disobey God; yea, because 
to men whose portion is there, whose hopes are there, and 
who have forsaken all that they may enjoy this glory ; and 
shall I be discouraged from persuading such to be heavenly 
minded ? If you will not hear and obey, who will ? Who- 
ever thou art therefore that readest these lines, I require 
thee, as thou tenderest thine allegiance to the God of heaven, 
as ever thou hopest for a part in this glory, that thou pre- 
sently take thy heart to task ; chide it for its wilful strange- 
ness to God ; turn thy thought from the pursuit of vanity, 
bend thy soul to study eternity ; habituate thyself to such 
contemplations, and let not those thoughts be seldom and 
cursory, but settle upon them ; dwell here, bathe thy soul 
in heaven's delights; drench thine affections in these rivers 
of pleasure ; and if thy backward soul begin to flag, and thy 
thoughts to fly abroad, call them back, hold them to their 
work, put them on, bear not with their laziness; and when 
thou hast once tried this work, and followed on till thou 
hast got acquainted with it, and kept a close guard upon 
thy thoughts till they are accustomed to obey, thou wilt 
then find thyself in the suburbs of heaven, and as it were in 
a new world ; thou wilt then find that there is sweetness in 
the work and way of God, and that the life of Christianity 
is a life of joy: thou wilt meet with those abundant con- 
solations which thou hast prayed, and panted, and groaned 
after, and which so few Christians obtain, because they 
know not the way to them, or else make not conscience of 
walking in it. 

You see the work now before you ; this, this is that I 
would fain persuade you to practise: let me bespeak your 
consciences in the name of Christ, and command you by 
the authority I have received from Christ, that you faith- 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 189 

fully set upon this duty, and fix your eye more steadfastly 
on your rest. Do not wonder that I persuade you so earn- 
estly : though indeed if we were truly reasonable men, it 
would be a wonder that men should need so much persua- 
sion to so sweet and plain a duty : but I know the employ- 
ment is high, the heart is earthly, and will still draw back; 
the temptations and hinderances will be many and great, 
and therefore I fear all these persuasions are little enough : 
say not, We are unable to set our own hearts on heaven, 
this must be the work of God : therefore all your exhorta- 
tion is in vain. I tell you, though God be the chief disposer 
of your hearts, yet next under him you have the greatest 
command of them yourselves, and a great power in the 
ordering of your own thoughts, and determining your own 
wills : though without Christ you can do nothing, yet under 
him you may do much, and must do much, or else you will 
be undone through your neglect : do your own parts, and 
you have no cause to distrust whether Christ will do his. 

I will here lay down some considerations, which, if you 
will but deliberately weigh with an impartial judgment, I 
doubt not will prove effectual with your hearts, and make 
you resolve upon this excellent duty. 

1. Consider, A heart set upon heaven, will be one of the 
most unquestionable evidences of a true work of saving 
grace upon thy soul. Would you have a sign infallible, 
not from me, or from the mouth of any man, but from the 
mouth of Jesus Christ himself, which all the enemies of the 
use of marks can lay no exceptions against ? Why here is 
such a one, Matthew vi, 21, " Where your treasure is, there 
will your heart be also." Know once assuredly where your 
heart is, and you may easily know that your treasure is 
there. God is the saints' treasure and happiness : heaven 
is the place where they fully enjoy him : a heart therefore 
set upon heaven, is no more but a heart set upon God, 
desiring this full enjoyment: and surely a heart set upon 
God through Christ, is the truest evidence of saving grace. 
External actions are the easiest discovered ; but those of the 
heart are the surest evidences. When thy learning will be 
no good proof of thy grace ; when thy knowledge, thy 
duties, and thy gifts, will fail thee ; when arguments from 
thy tongue and thy hand may be confuted ; then will this 
argument from the bent of thy heart prove thee sincere. 
Take a poor Christian that can scarce speak English about 
religion, that hath a weak understanding, a failing memory, 
a stammering tongue, yet his heart is set on God, he hath 
chosen him for his portion, his thoughts are on eternity, his 
desires there, his dwelling there; he cries out, O that I were 
there ! he takes that day for a time of imprisonment, wherein. 



190 the saint's everlasting rest. 

h3 hath not taken one refreshing view of eternity. I had 
rather die in this man's condition, than in the case of him 
that hath the most eminent gifts, and is most admired for 
parts and duty, whose heart is not taken up with God. 
The man that Christ will find out at the last day, and con- 
demn for want of a wedding garment, will be he that wants 
this frame of heart. The question will not then be, How 
much you have known or talked? but, How much have 
you loved, and where was your heart? Why then, as you 
would have a sure testimony of the love of God, and a sure 
proof of your title to glory, labour to get your hearts above. 
God will acknowledge you love him, when he sees your 
hearts are set upon him. Get but your hearts once truly in 
heaven, and without all question, yourselves will follow. If 
sin and Satan keep not thence your affections, they will 
never be able to keep away your persons. 

2. Consider, A heavenly mind is a joyful mind : this is 
the nearest and the truest way to comfort: and without this 
you must needs be uncomfortable. Can a man be at the 
fire, and not be warm ? Or in the sunshine, and not have 
light? Can your heart be in heaven, and not have comfort? 
What could make such frozen uncomfortable Christians, 
but living so far as they do from heaven? And what makes 
others so warm in comforts, but their frequent access so 
near to God ! When the sun in the spring draws near our 
part of the earth, how do all things congratulate its approach! 
The earth looks green, and casteth off her mourning habit; 
the trees shoot forth ; the plants revive; the birds sing; the 
face of all things smiles upon us, and all the creatures below 
rejoice. If we would but keep these hearts above, what a 
spring would be within us ; and all our graces be fresh and 
green ! How would the faee of our souls be changed, and 
all that is within us rejoice ! How should we forget our 
winter sorrows, and withdraw our souls from our sad retire- 
ments ! How early should we rise (as those birds in the 
spring) to sing the praise of our great Creator ! O Christians ! 
get above ; believe it, that region is warmer than this below. 
Those that have been there have found it so, and those that 
have come thence have told us so ; and I doubt not but thou 
hast sometimes tried it thyself. I dare appeal to thy own 
experience : When is it that you have largest comforts? Is 
it not after such an exercise as this, when thou hast got up 
thy heart, and conversed with God, and talked with the 
inhabitants of the higher world, and viewed the mansions 
of the saints and angels, and filled thy soul with the fore- 
thoughts of glory ? If thou knowest by experience what 
this practice is, I dare say thou knowest what spiritual joy 
is. If it be the countenance of God that fills us with joy. 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 191 

then they that most behold it, must be fullest of these joys. 
If you never tried this, nor lived this life of heavenly con- 
templation, I never wonder that you walk uncomfortably, 
and know not what the joy of the saints means: can you have 
comforts from God, and never think of him ? Can heaven 
rejoice you when you do not remember it? Doth any thing 
in the world glad you, when you think not on it ? Whom 
should wg blame then, that we are so void of consolation, 
but our own negligent unskilful hearts ? God hath provided 
us a crown of glory, and promised to set it shortly on our 
heads, and we will not so much as think of it: he holdeth it 
out to us, and biddeth us behold and rejoice, and we will 
not so much as look at it. What a perverse course is this, 
both against God and our own joys ! 

I confess, though in fleshly things the presenting a com- 
forting object is sufficient to produce an aaswerable delight, 
yet in spirituals we are more disabled : God must give the 
joy itself, as well as afford us matter for joy : but yet withal, 
it must be remembered, that God doth work upon us as men, 
and in a rational way doth raise our comforts : he enableth 
and exciteth us to mind these delightful objects, and from 
thence to gather our own comforts; therefore he that is 
most skilful and painful in this gathering art, is usually the 
fullest of the spiritual sweetness. It is by believing that we 
are filled with joy and peace ; and no longer than we con- 
tinue our believing. It is in hope that the saints rejoice, 
yea, in this hope of the glory of God ; and no longer than 
they continue hoping. And here let me warn you of a 
dangerous snare, an opinion which will rob you of all your 
comfort : some think, if they should thus fetch in their own 
by believing and hoping, and work it out of Scripture pro- 
mises by their own thinking and studying, then it would be 
a comfort only of their own hammering out, (as they say,) 
and not the genuine joy of the Holy Ghost. A desperate 
mistake, raised upon a ground that would overthrow almost 
all duty, as well as this ; which is their setting the workings 
of God's Spirit and their own spirits in opposition, when 
their spirits must stand in subordination to God's : they are 
conjunct causes, co-operating to the producing of one and 
the same effect. God's Spirit worketh our comforts by 
setting our own spirits at work upon the promises, and 
raising our thoughts to the place of our comforts. As you 
would delight a covetous man by showing him money, or 
a voluptuous man with fleshly delights; so God useth to 
delight his people by taking them as it were by the hand, 
and leading them into heaven, and showing them himself, 
and their rest with him. God useth not to cast in our joys 
while we are idle, or taken up with other things. It is true, 



193 the saint's everlasting rest. 

he sometimes doth it suddenly, but usually in the aforesaid 
order : and his sometimes sudden, extraordinary casting of 
comforting thoughts in our hearts, should be so far from 
hindering endeavours in a meditating way, that it should be 
a singular motive to quicken us to it ; even as a taste given 
us of some cordial, will make us desire and seek the rest. 
God feedeth not saints as birds do their young, bringing it 
to them, and putting it in their mouth, while they lie still 
in the nest, and only gape to receive it : but as he giveth to 
man the fruits of the earth, the increase of our land in corn 
and wine, while we plough, and sow, and weed, and water, 
and dung, and dress, and then with patience expect his 
blessing ; so doth he give the joys of the soul. Yet I deny 
not, that if any should think so to work out his own comforts 
by meditation, as to attempt the work in his own strength, 
the work would prove to be like the workman, and the 
comfort he would gather would be like both ; even mere 
vanity ; even as the husbandman's labour without the sun, 
and rain, and blessing of God. 

So then you may easily see, that close meditation on the 
matter and cause of your joy, is God's way to procure solid 
joy. For my part, if I should find my joy of another kind, 
I should be very prone to doubt of its sincerity. If I find a 
great deal of comfort, and know not how it came, nor upon 
what rational ground it was raised, nor what considerations 
feed and continue it, I should be ready to question whether 
this be from God. Our love to God should not be like that 
of fond lovers, who love violently, but they know not why. 
I think a Christian's joy should be rational joy, and not to 
rejoice, and know not why. In some extraordinary case, 
God may cast in such an extraordinary kind of joy : yet it 
is not his usual way. And if you observe the spirit of most 
uncomfortable Christians, you will find the reason to be 
their expectation of such kind of joys : and accordingly are 
their spirits variously tossed, and inconstantly tempered : 
when they meet with such joys, then they are cheerful and 
lifted up ; but because these are usually short-lived, there- 
fore they are straight as low as hell. And thus they are 
tossed as a vessel at sea, up and down, but still in extremes ; 
whereas, alas, God is most constant, Christ the same, heaven 
the same, and the promise the same ; and if we took the right 
course for fetching in our comfort from these, sure our com- 
forts would be more settled and constant, though not always 
the same. Whoever thou art therefore that readest these 
lines, I entreat thee, in the name of the Lord, and as thou 
valuest the life of constant joy, and that good conscience 
which is a continual feast, that thou wouldst seriously set 
upon this work, and learn the art of heavenly mindedness, 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 193 

and thou shalt find the increase a hundred fold, and the 
benefit abundantly exceed thy labour. 

3. Consider, A heart in heaven will be a most excellent 
preservative against temptations, and a powerful means to 
save the conscience from the wounds of sin : God can pre- 
vent our sinning, though we be careless, and sometimes 
doth ; but this is not his usual course ; nor is this our safest 
way to escape. When the mind is either idle, or ill employed, 
the devil needs not a greater advantage : if he find but the 
mind empty, there is room for any thing that he will bring 
in-, but when he finds the heart in heaven, what hone that 
his motions should take ? Let him entice to any forbidden 
course, the soul will return Nehemiah's answer, " I am 
doing a great work, and cannot come," Neh. vi, 3. Several 
ways will this preserve us against temptation. First, By 
keeping the heart employed. Secondly, By clearing the 
understanding, and confirming the will. Thirdly, By pre- 
possessing the affections. Fourthly, By keeping us in the 
way of God's blessing. 

First, By keeping the heart employed. When we are idle, 
we tempt the devil to tempt us ; as it is an encouragement 
to a thief, to see your doors open and nobody within ; and 
as we used to say, " Careless persons make thieves ;" so it 
will encourage Satan to find your hearts idle : but when the 
heart is taken up with God, it cannot have time to hearken 
to temptations ; it cannot have time to be lustful and wanton, 
ambitious or worldly. 

If you were but busied in your lawful callings, you would 
not be so ready to hearken to temptations : much less if. you 
were busied above with God. Will you leave your plough 
and harvest in the field ? Or leave the quenching of a fire in 
your houses, to run hunting of butterflies ? Would a judge 
rise, when he is sitting upon life and death, to go and play 
among the boys in the streets? No more will a Christian, 
when he is busy with God, give ear to the alluring charms 
of Satan. The love of God is never idle ; it workcth great 
things where it truly is; and when it will not work, it is 
not love. Therefore being still thus working, it is still pre- 
serving. 

Secondly, A heavenly mind is freest from sin, because it 
is of clearest understanding in spiritual matters. A man 
that is much in conversing above, hath truer and livelier 
apprehensions of things concerning God and his soul, than 
any reading or learning can beget : though perhaps he may 
be ignorant in divers controversies, and matters that less 
concern salvation, yet those truths which must establish his 
soul, and preserve him from temptation, he knows far better 
than the greatest scholars ; he hath so deep an insight into 

17 



194 the saint's everlasting rest. 

the evil of sin, the vanity of the creature, the brutishness of 
sensual delights, that temptations have little power on him ; 
for these earthly vanities are Satan's baits, which with the 
clear-sighted, have lost their force. " In vain," saith Solo- 
mon, " the net is spread in the sight of any bird." And in 
vain doth Satan lay his snares to entrap the soul that plainly 
sees them. When the heavenly mind is above with God, 
he may from thence discern every danger that lies below: 
nay, if he did not discover the snare, yet were he likelier far 
to escape it than any others. A net or bait that is laid on 
the ground, is unlikely to catch the bird that flies in the air; 
while she keeps above, she is out of the danger, and the 
higher, the safer ; so it is with us. Satan's temptations are 
laid on the earth ; earth is the place, and earth is the ordinary 
bait : how shall these ensnare the Christian, who hath left 
the earth and v/alks with God ? 

Do you not sensibly perceive, that when your hearts are 
seriously fixed on heaven, you become wiser than before ? 
Are not your understandings more solid ; and your thoughts 
more sober ? Have you not truer apprehensions of things 
than you had? For my own part, if ever I be wise, it is 
when I have been much above, and seriously studied the 
life to come : methinks I find my understanding, after such 
contemplations, as much to differ from what it was before, 
as I before differed from a fool or an idiot : when my under- 
standing is weakened and befooled with common employ- 
ment, and with conversing long with the vanities below, 
methinks a few sober thoughts of my Father's house, and 
the blessed provision of his family in heaven, doth make 
me (with the prodigal) to come to myself again. Surely, 
when a Christian withdraws himself from his earthly 
thoughts, and begins to converse with God in heaven, he is 
a Nebuchadnezzar, taken from the beasts of the field to the 
throne, and his understanding returneth to him again. O 
when a Christian hath had but a glimpse of eternity, and 
then looks down on the world again, how doth he say to 
his laughter, Thou' art mad! and to his vain mirth, JVfiat 
dost thou ? How could he even tear his flesh, and take 
revenge on himself for his folly ! How verily doth he think 
that there is no man in Bedlam so mad, as wilful sinners, 
and lazy betrayers of their own souls, and unworthy slight- 
ers of Christ and glory ! 

Do you not think (except men are stark devils) that it 
would be a harder matter to entice a man to sin, when he lies 
a dying, than it was before ? If the devil, or his instruments, 
should then tell him of a cup of sack, of merry company, or 
of a stage play, do you think he would then be so taken 
with the motion ? If he should then tell him of riches, or 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 195 

honours, or show him cards, or dice, or a whore, would the 
temptation (think you) be as strong as before? Would he 
not answer, Alas ! what is all this to me, who must presently 
appear before God, and give account of all my life, and 
straight ways be in another world ? Why, if the apprehen- 
sion of the nearness of eternity will work such strange 
effects upon the ungodly, and make them wiser than to be 
deceived so easily as they were wont, to be in time of 
health ; what effects would it work in thee, if thou couldst 
always dwell in the views of God, and in lively thoughts of 
thine everlasting state ? Surely a believer, if he improve 
his faith, may have truer apprehensions of the life to come, 
in the time of his health, than an unbeliever hath at the hour 
of his death. 

Thirdly, A heavenly mind is fortified against temptations, 
because the affections are prepossessed with the delights of 
another world. When the soul is not affected with good, 
though the understanding never so clearly apprehend the 
truth, it is easy for Satan to entice that soul. Mere specu- 
lations (be they never so true) which sink not into the 
affections, are poor preservatives against temptations. He 
that loves most, and not he that knows most, will easiest 
resist the motions of sin. There is in a Christian a kind of 
spiritual taste, whereby he knows these things, besides his 
mere reasoning power: the will doth as sweetly relish 
goodness, as the understanding doth truth; and here lies 
much of a Christian's strength. If you should dispute with 
a simple man, and labour to persuade him that sugar is not 
sweet, or that wormwood is not bitter, perhaps you might 
with sophistry over argue his mere reason, but yet you could 
not persuade him against his sense ; whereas a man that 
hath lost his taste, is easier deceived for all his reason. So 
it is here. When thou hast had a fresh delightful taste of 
heaven, thou wilt not be so easily persuaded from it; you 
cannot persuade a very child to part with his apple, while 
the taste of its sweetness is yet in its mouth. 

O that you would be persuaded to be much in feeding on 
the hidden manna, and to be frequently tasting the delights 
of heaven ! It is true, it is a great way off from our sense, 
but faith can reach as far as that. How would this raise 
thy resolutions, and make thee laugh at the fooleries of the 
world, and scorn to be cheated with such childish toys ! 
What if the devil had set upon Paul when he was in the 
third heaven ? Could he then have persuaded his heart to 
the pleasures, or profits, or honours, of the world ? Though 
the Israelites below may be enticed to idolatry, and from 
eating and drinking to rise up to play ; yet Moses in the 
mount with God wall not do so : and if they had been where 



198 the saint's everlasting rest. 

he was, and had but seen what he there saw, perhaps they 
would not so easily have sinned. O if we could keep our 
souls continually delighted with the sweetness above, with 
what disdain should we spit out the baits of sin! 

Fourthly, Whilst the heart is set on heaven, a man is 
under God's protection : and therefore if Satan then assault 
him, God is more engaged for his defence. 

Let me entreat thee then, if thou be a man that is haunted 
with temptation, (as doubtless thou art, if thou be a man,) if 
thou perceive thy danger, and wouldst fain escape it; use 
much this powerful remedy, keep close with God by a hea- 
venly mind ; and when the temptation comes, go straight to 
heaven, and turn thy thoughts to higher .things ; thou shaLt, 
find this a surer help than any other. Follow your business 
above with Christ, and keep your thoughts to their heavenly 
employment, and you sooner will this way vanquish thg 
temptation, than if you argued or talked it out with the 
tempter. 

4. Consider, The diligent keeping of your hearts on hea- 
ven, will preserve the vigour of all your graces, and put life 
into your duties. It is the heavenly Christian that is the 
lively Christian : it is our strangeness to heaven that ma,ke$ 
us so dull: it is the end that quickens all the means; an^ 
the more frequently and clearly this end is beheld, the more 
vigorous will all our motions be. How doth it make men 
unweariedly labour, and fearlessly venture, when they do 
but think of the gainful prize ! How will the soldier hazard 
his life, and the mariner pass through storms and waves! 
How cheerfully do they compass sea and land, when they 
think of an uncertain perishing treasure ! O what life then 
would it put into a Christian's endeavours, if he would fre- 
quently think of his everlasting treasure ! We run so slowly, 
and strive so lazily, because we so little mind the prize. 
When a Christian hath been tasting the hidden manna, and 
drinking of the streams of the paradise of God, what life 
doth this put into him ! How fervent will his spirit be in 
prayer, when he considers that he prays for no less than 
heaven ! 

Observe but the man who is much in heaven, and yon 
shall see he is not like others; there is somewhat of that 
which he hath seen above, appeareth in all his duty and 
conversation : nay, take but the same man immediately 
when he is returned from these views of bliss,, and you 
may easily perceive he excels himself. If he be a preacher, 
how heavenly are his sermons! What clear descriptions, 
what high expressions hath he of that rest ! If he be a 
private Christian, what heavenly conference, what heavenly 
prayers, what a heavenly carriage* hath he ! May you nojk 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 197 

even hear in a preacher's sermons, or in the private duties 
of another, when they have been most above ? When Moses 
had been with God in the mount, it made his face shine, 
that the people could not behold him. If you would but 
set upon this employment, even so it would be with you : 
men would see the face of your conversation shine, and say, 
"Surely he hath been with God !" 

It is true, a heavenly nature goes before this heavenly 
employment ; but yet the work will make it more heavenly : 
there must be life, before we can feel : but our life is con- 
tinued and increased by feeding. Therefore, let me inform 
thee, if thou lie complaining of deadness and dulness, that 
thou canst not love Christ, nor rejoice in his love ; that thou 
hast no life in prayer, nor any other duty, and yet never 
triedst this quickening course, or at least art careiess and 
inconstant in it ; thou art the cause of thy own complaints ; 
thou dullest thine own heart ; thou deniest thyself that life 
which thou talkest of. Is not "thy life hid with Christ in 
God?" Whither must thou go but to Christ for it? And 
whither is that, but to heaven, where he is ? " Thou wilt 
not come to Christ that thou mayest have life." If thou 
wouldst have light and heat, why art thou then no more in 
the sunshine? If thou wouldst have more of that grace 
which flows from Christ, why art thou no more with Christ 
for it? Thy strength is in heaven, and thy life in heaven, 
and there thou must daily fetch it, if thou wilt have it. For 
want of this recourse to heaven,- thy soul is as a candle that 
is not lighted, and thy duties as a sacrifice which hath no fire. 
Fetch one coal daily from this altar, and see if thy offering 
will not burn. Light thy candle at this flame, and feed it 
daily with oil from hence, and see if it will not gloriously 
shine : keep close to this reviving fire, and see if thy affections 
will not be warm. Thon bewailest thy want of love to God ; 
(and well thou mayest, for it is a heinous crime, a killing sin ;) 
why, lift up thy eye of faith to heaven, behold his beauty, 
contemplate his excellencies, and see whether his aniiableness 
will not fire thy affections, and his goodness ravish thy heart. 
As the eye doth incense the sensual affections, by gazing 
on alluring objects; so doth the eye of faith in meditation 
inflame our affections toward our Lord, by gazing on that 
highest beauty. Whoever thou art, that art a stranger to 
this employment, be thy parts and profession ever so great, 
let me tell thee, thou spendest thy life but in trifling or idle- 
ness ; thou seemest to live, but thou art dead : I may say of 
thee, as Seneca of idle Vacia, " Sci, latere, vivere, nestis ;" 
thou knowest how to lurk in idleness, but how to live thou 
knowest not. And as the same Seneca would say, when he 
passed by that sluggard's dwelling, " Ibi situs est Vacia ;" 



198 THE 'SAINT'S EVERLASTING RE$T.« 

so it may be said of thee, There lies such a one, but not, 
There ] ; ves such a one, for thou spendest thy days liker to 
the dead than the living. One of Draco's laws to the Athe- 
nians was, That he who was convicted of idleness, should 
be put to death ; thou dost execute this on thy own soul, 
whilst by thy idleness thou- destroyest its life. 

Thou may est rnany other ways exercise thy parts, but 
this is the way to exercise thy graces : they all come from 
God as their fountain, and lead to God as their end, and are 
exercised on God as their chief object-: so that God is their 
all in all. From heaven they come, and to heaven they will 
direct and move thee. And as exercise maintaineth appetite, 
strength, and liveliness to the body; so doth it also to the 
soul. Use limbs) and have limbs, is the known proverb ; and 
use grace and spiritual life in these heavenly exercises, and 
you shall find it quickly cause their increase. The exercise of 
your mere abilities of speech will not much advantage your 
graces; but the exercise of these heavenly gifts will incon- 
ceivably help the growth of both : for as the moon is then 
most full and glorious, when it doth most directly face the 
sun ; so will your souls be both in gifts and graces, when 
you most nearly view the face of God. This will feed your 
tongue with matter, and make you abound and overflow, 
both in preaching, praying, and conferring. Besides, the 
fire which you fetch from heaven for your sacrifices, is no 
false or strange fire. As your liveliness will be much more, 
so will it be also more sincere. 

The zeal which is kindled by your meditations on heaven,. 
fe most like to prove a heavenly zeal ; and the liveliness of 
the spirit which you fetch from the face of God, must needs 
be the divinest life. Some men's fervency is drawn only 
from their books, and some from stinging affliction, ,and 
some from, the mouth of a moving minister, and some from 
the encouragement of an attentive auditory: but he that 
knows this way to heaven, and derives it daily from, the pure 
fountain, shall have his soul revived with the water of life, 
and enjoy that quickening which is the saint's peculiar: by 
this faith thou mayest offer Abel's sacrifice, more excellent 
than that of common men, and by it obtain witness that 
thou art righteous, God testifying of thy gifts, Heb. xi, 4. 
When others are ready, as Baal's priests, to beat themselves, 
and cut their flesh, because their sacrifices will not burn; 
then if thou canst get but the spirit of Elias, and in the 
chariot of contemplation soar aloft, till thou approachest 
near to the quickening spirit, thy soul and sacrifice will 
gloriously flame, though the flesh and the world should 
cast upon them the water of all their enmity. Say not now, 
How shall we get so high ? Or how can mortals ascend to 



THE SAINT S EVERLASTING REST. 195* 

heaven ? For faith hath wings, and meditation is its chariot ; 
its office is to make absent things as present. Do you not 
see how a little piece of glass, if it do but rightly face the 
sun, will so contract its beams and heat, as to set on fire 
that which is behind it, which without it would have received 
but little warmth ? Why thy faith is as the burning-glass to 
thy sacrifice, and meditation sets it to face the sun; only 
take it not away too soon, but hold it there awhile, and thy 
soul will feel the happy effect. 

If we could get into the holy of holies, and bring thence 
the name and image of God, and get it closed up in our 
hearts, this would enable us to work wonders ; every duty 
we performed would be a wonder; and they that heard 
would be ready to say, Never man spake as this man speak- 
eth. The Spirit would possess us, as those flaming tongues, 
and make us every one speak (not in the variety of the con- 
founded languages, but) in the primitive pure language of 
Canaan, the wonderful works of God. "We should then be 
in every duty, whether prayer, exhortation, or brotherly 
reproof, as Paul was at Athens ; his spirit was stirred within 
him : and should be ready to say, as Jeremiah did, Jer. xx, 
9, " His word was in my heart as a burning fire shut up in 
my bones ; and I was weary with forbearing, and I could 
not stay." 

Christian reader, art thou not thinking when thou seest a 
lively believer, and hearest his melting prayers, and ravish- 
ing discourse, O how happy a man is this! O that my soul 
were in his state ! Why, I here direct and advise thee from 
God. Try this course, and set thy soul to this work, and 
thou shalt be in as good a case. Wash thee frequently in 
this Jordan, and thy dead soul shall revive, and thou shalt 
know there is a God in Israel ; and that thou mayest live a 
vigorous and joyous life, if thou neglect not thine own 
mercies. If thou truly value this strong and active frame 
of spirit, show it by thy present attempting this heavenly 
exercise. Thou hast heard the way to obtain this life in 
thy soul, and in thy duties; if thou wilt yet neglect it, 
blame thyself. 

But alas, the multitude of professors come to a minister 
just as Naaman came to Elias ; they ask us, How shall I 
overcome a hard heart, and get the strength and life of 
grace ? But they expect that some easy means should do 
it ; and think we should cure them with the very answer to 
their question, and teach them a way to be quickly well : 
but when they hear of a daily trading in heaven, and con- 
stant meditation on the joys above, this is a greater task 
than they expected; and they turn their backs as Naaman 
ta EUas, or the young man on Christ. Will not preaching, 



200 the saint's everlasting rest. 

and praying, and conference, serve, (say they,) without this 
dwelling still in heaven ? I entreat thee, reader, beware of 
this folly; fall to the work : the comfort of spiritual health 
will countervail all the trouble. It is but the flesh that 
repines, which thou knowest was never a friend to thy soul. 
If God had not set thee on some grievous work, shouldst 
thou not have done it for the life of thy soul ? How much 
more when he doth but invite thee to himself? 

5. Consider, The frequent believing views of glory are the 
most precious cordial in all afflictions : 1. To sustain our 
spirits, and make our sufferings far more easy. 2. To stay 
us from repining. And 3. To strengthen our resolutions, 
that we forsake not Christ for fear of trouble. A man will 
more quietly endure the lancing of his sores, when he thinks 
on the ease that will follow. What then will not a believer 
endure, when he thinks of the rest to which it tendeth ? 
What if the way be never so rough, can it be tedious it 
it lead to heaven ? O sweet sickness, sweet reproaches, 
imprisonments, or death, which is accompanied with these 
tastes of our future rest ! Believe it, thou wilt suffer heavily, 
thou wilt die most sadly, if thou hast not at hand the fore- 
tastes of this rest. Therefore as thou wilt then be ready with 
David to pray, "Be not far from me, for trouble is near: 5 * 
so let it be thy chief care not to be far from God and heaven, 
when trouble is near, and " thou wilt find him a very present 
help in trouble." 

* All sufferings are nothing to us, so far as we have the 
foresight of this salvation. No bolts, nor bars, nor distance 
of place, can shut out these supporting joys, because they 
cannot confine our faith and thoughts, although they may 
confine our flesh. Christ and faith are spiritual, and there- 
fore prisons and banishments cannot hinder their intercourse* 
Even when persecution and fear hath shut the door, Christ 
can come in, and stand in the midst, and say, " Peace be 
unto you." It is not the place that gives the rest, but the 
presence and beholding of Christ in it. If the Son of God 
will walk with us in it, we may walk safely in the midst of 
those flames, which shall devour those that cast us in : why 
then, keep thy soul above with Christ ; be as little as may 
be out of his company, and then all conditions will be alike 
tp thee. What made ki Moses choose affliction with the 
people of God, rather than enjoy the pleasures of sin for a 
season? He had respect to the recompense of reward." 
Yea, our Lord himself did fetch his encouragements to suf- 
ferings from the foresight of his glory : " For to this end he 
both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both 
of the dead and living," Rom. xiv, 9. " Even Jesus, the 
author and finisher of our faith, for the joy that was set 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 201 

before him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and is 
set down at the right hand of the throne of God." 

6. Consider, It is he that hath his conversation in heaven, 
who is the profitable Christian to all about him : with him 
you may take sweet counsel, and go up to the celestial house 
of God. When a man is in a strange country, far from home, 
how glad is he of the company of one of his own nation ! 
How delightful is it to them to talk of their country, of their 
acquaintance, and the affairs of their home ! Why, with a 
heavenly Christian thou mayest have such discourse; for 
he hath been there in the spirit, and can tell thee of the 
glory and rest above. To discourse with able men, of clear 
understandings, about the difficulties of religion, yea, about 
languages and sciences, is both pleasant and profitable ; but 
nothing to this heavenly discourse of a believer. O how 
refreshing are his expressions ! How his words pierce the 
heart ! How they transform the hearers ! " How doth his 
doctrine drop as the rain, and his speech distil as the dew, 
as the small rain upon th^ tender herb, and as the showers 
upon the grass; while his tongue is expressing the name of 
the Lord, and ascribing greatness to his God !" This is the 
man who is as Job, " when the candle of God did shine upon 
his head, and when by his light he walked through darkness: 
when the secret of G*od was upon his tabernacle, and when 
the Almighty was yet with him : then the ear that heard 
him, did bless him ; and the eye that saw him, gave witness 
to him, 5 ' Job xxix, 3, 4, 5, 11. Happy the people that have 
a heavenly minister ; happy the children and servants that 
have a heavenly father or master ; happy the man that 
hath heavenly associates ; if they have but hearts to know 
their happiness. This is the companion, who will watch 
over thy ways, who will strengthen thee when thou art 
weak, who will cheer thee when thou art drooping, and 
comfort thee with the same comforts wherewith he hath 
been so often comforted himself. This is he that will be 
blowing the spark of thy spiritual life, and always drawing 
thy soul to God, and will be saying to thee, as the Samaritan 
woman, " Corne and see one that hath told me all that ever 
I did,' 3 one that hath ravished my heart with his beauty, 
one that hath loved our souls to the death : is not this the 
Christ ? Is not the knowledge of God and him eternal life? 
Is it not the glory of the saints to see his glory ? If thou 
travel with this man on the way, he will be directing and 
quickening thee in thy journey to heaven : if thou be buying, 
or selling, or trading with him in the world, he will be 
counselling thee to lay out for the inestimable treasure : if 
thou wrong him, he can pardon thee, remembering that 
Christ hath not only pardoned great offences to him, but 



202 the saint's everlasting eest. 

will also give him this invaluable portion. This is the 
Christian of the right stamp ; this is the servant that is like 
his Lord ; these be the innocent that save the island, and 
all about them are the better where they dwell. I fear the 
men I have described are very rare, but were it not for our 
shameful negligence, such men might we all be ! 



CHAPTER III. 

containing some hinderances of heavenly mindedness. , 

As thou vainest the comforts of a heavenly conversation, 
I here charge thee from God, to beware most carefully of 
these impediments : 

1. The first is, a living in a known sin. Observe this : — 
What havoc will this make in thy soul! O the joys that 
this hath destroyed ! The blessed communion with God 
that this hath interrupted ! The ruins it hath made amongst 
men's graces! The duties that it hath hindered! And above 
all others, it is an enemy to this great duty. 

I desire thee, in the fear of God, stay here a little, and 
search thy heart. Art thou one that hath used violence 
with thy conscience? Art thou a wilful neglecter of known 
duties, either public or private? Art thou a slave to thine 
appetite, in eating or drinking, or to any other commanding 
sense ? Art thou a seeker of thine own esteem, and a man that 
must needs have men's good opinion ? Art thou a peevish 
or a passionate person, ready to take fire at every word, or 
every supposed slight? Art thou a deceiver of others in thy 
dealing: or one that hath set thyself to rise in the world? 
Not to speak of greater sins, which all take notice of. If 
this be thy case, I dare say, heaven and thy soul are very 
great strangers ; I dare say thou art seldom with God, 
and there is little hope it should be better as long as thou 
continuest in these transgressions : these beams in thine eye 
will not suffer thee to look to heaven ; these will be a cloud 
between thee and God. How shouldst thou take comfort 
from heaven, who taketh so much pleasure in the lusts of 
the flesh ? Every wilful sin will be to thy comforts as 
water to fire ; when thou thinkest to quicken them, this 
will quench them ; when thy heart begins to draw near to 
God, this will presently fill thee with doubting. Besides, it 
doth utterly indispose thee, and disable thee to this work ; 
when thou shouldst wind up thy heart to heaven, it is biased 
another way : it is entangled, and can no more ascend in 
divine meditation, than the bird can fly whose wings are 
dipt, or that is taken in the snare. Sin doth cut the very 
sinews of the soul ; therefore I say of this heavenly life as 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 203 

Mr. Bolton saith of prayer, " Either it will make thee leave 
sinning, or sin will make thee leave it," and that quickly 
too : for these cannot continue together. If heaven and 
hell can meet together, then mayest thou live in thy sin, 
and in the tastes of glory. If therefore thou find thyself 
guilty, never doubt but this is the cause that estrangeth thee 
from heaven ; and take heed lest it keep out thee, as it keeps 
out thy heart. Yea, if thou be a man that hitherto hast 
escaped, and knowest no reigning sin in thy soul, yet let 
this warning move thee to prevention, and stir up a dread 
of this danger in thy spirit ; especially resolve to keep from 
the occasions of sin, and, as much as possible, out of the 
way of temptations. 

2. A second hinderance carefully to be avoided, is an 
earthly mind ; for you may easily conceive, that this cannot 
stand with a heavenly mind. God and mammon, earth and 
heaven, cannot both have the delight of thy heart. This 
makes thee like Anselm's bird, with a stone tied to the foot, 
which as oft as she took flight, did pluck her to the earth 
again. If thou be a man that hast fancied to thyself, some 
happiness to be found on earth, and beginnest to taste a 
sweetness in gain, and to aspire after a higher estate, and 
art driving on thy design; believe it, thou art marching 
with thy back upon Christ, and art posting apace from this 
heavenly life. Hath not the world that from thee, which 
God hath from the believer ? When he is blessing himself 
in God, and rejoicing in hope of the glory to come; then 
thou art blessing thyself in thy prosperity. 

It may be thou boldest on thy course of duty, and prayest 
as oft as thou didst before ; it may be thou keepest in with 
good ministers, and with good men, and seemest as forward 
in religion as ever : but what is all this to the purpose ? 
Mock not thy soul, man; for God will not be mocked. 
Thine earthly mind may consist with thy common duties ; 
but it cannot consist with this heavenly duty. I need not 
tell thee this, if thou wouldst not be a traitor to thy own soul : 
thou knowest thyself how seldom and cold, how cursory 
and strange, thy thoughts have been of the joys hereafter, 
ever since thou didst trade so eagerly for the world. 

Methinks I even perceive thy conscience stir now, and 
tell thee plainly, that this is thy case. Hear it, man ! O hear 
it now ; lest thou hear it in another manner when thou 
wouldst be full loath. O the cursed madness of many that 
seem to be religious ! who thrust themselves into the multi- 
tude of employments, and think they can never have business 
enough, till they are so loaded with labours, and clogged 
with cares, that their souls are as unfit to converse with 
God, as a man to walk with a mountain on his back. And 



204 the saint's everlasting rest. 

when all is done, and they have lost that heaven they might 
have had upon earth, they take up a few rotten arguments 
to prove it lawful, and then they think that they have salved 
all. They miss not the pleasures of this heavenly life, if 
they can but quiet their consciences, while they fasten upon 
lower and baser pleasures. 

For thee, O Christian! who hast tasted of these pleasures, 
I advise thee, as thou valuest their enjoyment, as ever thou 
would taste of them any more, take heed of this gulf of an 
earthly mind: for if once thou comest'to this, " that thou 
wilt be rich, thou fallest into temptation, and a snare, and 
into divers foolish and hurtful lusts." Keep these things as 
thy upper garments still loose about thee, that thou mayest 
lay them by whenever there is cause ; but let God and glory 
be next thy heart, yea, as the very blood and spirit by 
which thou livest : still remember that of the Spirit, " The 
friendship of the world is enmity with God ; whosoever 
therefore will be a friend of the world, is the enemy of God." 
And " love not the world, nor the things in the world : if 
any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in 
him." This is plain dealing; and happy he that faithfully 
receives it. 

3. A third hinderance of which I must advise thee to 
beware is, the company of ungodly and sensual men. Not 
that I would dissuade thee from necessary converse, or from 
doing them any office of love : nor would I have thee con- 
clude them to be dogs and swine, that so thou mayest evade 
the duty of reproof ; nor yet to judge them such at all, before 
thou art certain they are such indeed. 

But it is the unnecessary society of ungodly men, and 
familiarity with unprofitable companions, though they be 
not so apparently ungodly, that I dissuade you from. It is 
not only the open profane, the swearer, the drunkard, that 
will prove hurtful to us ; but dead-hearted formalists, or 
persons merely civil, and moral, or whose conference is 
empty, unsavoury, and barren, may much divert our thoughts 
from heaven. As mere idleness, and forgetting God, will 
keep a soul as certainly from heaven, as a profane, licentious, 
fleshly life : so also will useless company as surely keep our 
hearts from heaven, as the company of men more dissolute 
and profane. Alas ! our dulness and backwardness is such, 
that we have need of the most constant and powerful helps: 
a clod, or a stone, that lies on the earth is as prone to arise 
and fly in the air, as our hearts are to move toward heaven. 
You need not hold them from flying up to the skies ; it is 
sufficient that you do not help them. If our spirits have 
not great assistance, they may easily be kept from flying 
aloft, though they never should meet with the least impedi- 



t&e saint^s everlasting rest. 205 

ment. O think of this in the choice of your company: 
when your spirits need no help to lift them up, but as the 
flames you are always mounting upward, and carrying with 
you all that is in your way, then you may indeed be less 
careful of your company ; but till then be careful therein. 
As it is reported of a lord that was near his death, and the 
doctor that prayed with him read over the litany, " For all 
women labouring with child, for all sick persons, and young 
children," &c. — " From lightning and tempest; from plague, 
pestilence, and famine; from battle and murder, and from 
sudden death." " Alas !" saith he, " what is this to me, who 
must presently die ?" So mayest thou say of such men's 
conference, Alas ! what is this to me, who must shortly be 
in rest? What will it advantage thee to a life with God, to 
hear where the fair is such a day, or how the market goes, 
or what weather it is, or is like to be, or when the moon 
changed, or what news is stirring? What will it conduce 
to the raising thy heart God-ward, to hear that this is an 
able minister, or that an able Christian, or that this was an 
excellent sermon, or that is an excellent book; to hear a 
discourse of baptisms, ceremonies, the order of God's decrees, 
or other such controversies of great difficulty, and less 
importance ? Yet this, for the most part, is the sweetest 
discourse that you are likely to have of a formal dead-hearted 
professor. If thou hadst newly been warming thy heart with 
the joys above, would not this discourse quickly freeze it 
again ? I appeal to the judgment of any man that hath tried 
it, and maketh observations on the frame of his spirit. 

4. A fourth hinderance to heavenly conversation is, dis- 
putes about lesser truths, and especially when a man's 
religion lies only in his opinions ; a sure sign of an unsanc- 
tified soul. If sad examples be regarded, I need say the less 
upon this. It is legibly written in the faces of thousands ; 
it is visible in the complexion of our deceased nation. They 
are men least acquainted with a heavenly life, who are the 
violent disputers about the circumstantials of religion: he 
whose religion is all in his opinions, will be most frequently 
and zealously speaking his opinions- and he whose religion 
lies in the knowledge and love of ',*od in Christ, of that time 
when he shall enjoy God and Christ. As the body doth 
languish in consuming fevers, when the native heat abates 
within, and an unnatural heat inflaming the external parts 
succeeds ; so when the zeal of a Christian doth leave the 
internals of religion, and fly to externals, or inferior things, 
the soul must needs consume and languish. Yea, though 
you were sure your opinions were true, yet when the chief 
of your zeal is turned thither, and the chief of your confer- 
ence there laid out, the life of grace decays within. 

18 



206 the saint's everlasting rest. 

Therefore let me advise you that aspire after this joyous 
life, spend not your thoughts, your time, your zeal, or your 
speeches, upon quarrels that less concern your souls : but 
when others are feeding on husks or shells, or on this heated 
food which will burn their lips far sooner than warm and 
strengthen their hearts ; then do you feed on the joys above. 
T could wish you were all understanding men, able to defend 
every truth of God ; but still I would have the chief to be 
chiefly studied, and none to shoulder out your thoughts of 
eternity: the least controverted points are usually most 
weighty, and of most necessary use to our souls. 

5. As you value the comforts of a heavenly life, take heed 
of a proud and lofty spirit. There is such an antipathy 
between this sin and God, that thou wilt never get thy 
heart near him, as long as this prevaileth in it. IHt cast 
the angels from heaven that were in it, it must needs keep 
thy heart estranged from it. If it cast our first parents out 
of paradise, and separated between the Lord and us, it must 
needs keep our hearts from paradise, and increase the cursed 
separation from our God. The delight of God is an humble 
soul, even him that is contrite, and trembleth at his word : 
and the delight of an humble soul is in God : and sure where 
there is mutual delight, there will be freest admittance, and 
heartiest welcome, and most frequent converse. Well then, 
art thou a man of worth in thine own eyes ? And very 
tender of thine esteem with others? Art thou one that 
much valuest applause, and feelest delight when thou b.ear- 
est of thy great esteem with men ; and art dejected when 
thou hearest that men slight thee? Dost thou love those 
most who best honour thee ; and doth thy heart bear a 
grudge at those that thou thinkest undervalue thee ? Wilt 
thou not be brought to shame thyself, by humble confession, 
when thou hast sinned against God, or injured thy brother? 
Art thou one that honourest the rich ? And thinkest thyself 
somebody if they value and own thee? But lookest strangely 
at the poor, and art almost ashamed to be their companion? 
Art thou unacquainted with the deceitfulness and wickedness 
of thy heart ? Or knowest thyself to be vile only by reading, 
not by feeling thy vileness ?' Art thou readier to defend 
thyself, and maintain thine innocency, than to accuse thyself, 
or confess thy fault ? Canst thou hardly hear a close reproof, 
or plain dealing, without difficulty and distaste ? Art thou 
readier in thy discourse to teach than to learn : and to dic- 
tate to others, than to hearken to their instructions ? Art 
thou bold and confident of thy own opinions, and little 
suspicious of the weakness of thy understanding? but a 
slighter of the judgment of all that are against thee ? Is thy 
spirit more disposed to command than to obey ? Art thou 



68 



70 



72 



■W" 



74 



7P 



76 



▼ 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 207 

ready to censure the doctrine of thy teachers, the actions of 
thy rulers, and the persons of thy brethren? and to think, if 
thou wert a judge, thou wouldst be more just ; or if thou 
vvert a minister, thou wouldst be more fruitful and more 
faithful? If these symptoms be in thy heart, beyond doubt 
thou art a proud person. Thou art abominably proud ; 
there is too much of hell abiding in thee, for thee to have 
any acquaintance at heaven : thy soul is too like the devil, 
to have any familiarity with God. 

I entreat you be very jealous of your souls in this point: 
there is nothing will more estrange you from God : I speak 
the more of it, because it is the most common and dangerous 
sin, and most promoting the great sin of infidelity : you would 
little think what humble carriage, what exclaiming against 
pride, what self accusing, may stand with this devilish sin 
of pride. O Christian, if thou wouldst live continually in 
the presence of thy Lord, and lie in the dust, he would 
thence take thee up; descend first with him into the grave, 
and thence thou mayest ascend with him to glory. Learn 
of him to be meek and lowly, and then thou mayest taste of 
this rest to thy soul. Thy soul else will be " as the troubled 
sea, which cannot rest;" and instead of these sweet delights 
in God, thy pride will fill thee with perpetual disquietude. 

6. Another impediment to this heavenly life is, laziness, 
and slotbfulness of spirit : and I verily think for knowing 
men, there is nothing hinders more than this. If it were 
only the exercise of the body, the moving of the lips, the 
bending of the knee, then men would as commonly step to 
heaven, as they go a few miles to visit a friend : yea, if it 
were to spend our days in numbering beads, and repeating 
certain words and prayers, or in the outward parts of duties 
commanded by God, yet it were comparatively easy: further, 
if it were only in the exercise of parts and gifts, it were easier 
to be heavenly minded. But it is a work more difficult than 
all this : to separate our thoughts and affections from the 
world ; to draw forth all our graces in their order, and 
exercise each on its proper object; to hold them to this, till 
the work doth thrive and prosper in their hands; this is the 
difficult task. Heaven is above thee, the way is upwards ; 
dost thou think, who art a feeble sinner, to travel daily this 
steep ascent without a great deal of labour and resolution? 
Canst thou get that earthly heart to heaven, and bring that 
backward mind to God, while thou liest still, and takest 
thine ease? If lying down at the foot of the hill, and look- 
ing toward the top, and wishing we were there, would serve 
the turn, then we should have daily travellers for heaven. 
But "the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the 
violent take it by force." There must be violence used to 



208 the saint's everlasting rest. 

get the first fruits, as well as to get the full possession. 
Dost thou not feel it so, though I should not tell thee ? 
Will thy heart get upwards except thou drive it ? Dost 
thou find it easy to dwell in the delights above ? It is true 
the work is sweet, and no condition on earth so desirable ; 
but therefore it is that our hearts are so backward ; especially 
in the beginning, till we are acquainted with it. O how 
many who can easily bring their hearts to ordinary duties, 
as reading, hearing, praying, conferring, could never yet in 
all their lives, bring them, and keep them, to a heavenly 
contemplation one half hour together! Consider here, reader,, 
as before the Lord, whether this be not thine own case. 
Thou hast known that heaven is all thy hopes ; thou know-. 
est fhou must shortly be turned hence, and that nothing 
below can yield thee rest ; thou knowest also that a strange 
heart, a seldom and careless thinking of heaven, can fetch 
but little comfort thence : and dost thou yet, for all this, let 
slip thy opportunities, when thou shouldst walk above, and 
live with God ? Dost thou commend the sweetness of a 
heavenly life, and yet didst never once try it thyself? But 
as the sluggard that stretched himself on his bed, and cried, 
O that this were working ! so dost thou live at thy ease, and 
say, O that I could get my heart to heaven ! How many 
read books and hear sermons, in expectation to hear of some 
easy course, or to meet with a shorter cut to comforts, than 
ever they are like to find ? And if they can hear of none 
from the preachers of truth, they will snatch it with rejoic- 
ing from the teachers of falsehood : and presently applaud 
the excellency of the doctrine, because it hath fitted their 
lazy temper ; and think there is no other doctrine will com- 
fort the soul, because it will not comfort it with hearing and 
looking on. And while they pretend enmity only to the 
law, they oppose the easier conditions of the gospel, and 
cast off the burden which all must bear that find rest to their 
souls : the Lord of light, and Spirit of comfort, show these 
men in time, a surer way for lasting comfort. It was an 
established law among the Argi, that if a man were per-. 
ceived to be idle and lazy, he must give an account before 
the magistrate, how he came by his victuals and main- 
tenance : and sure when I see these men lazy in the use of 
God's appointed means for comfort, I cannot but question 
how they came by their comforts. I would they would 
examine it thoroughly themselves ; for God will require an 
account of it from them. Idleness, and not improving the 
truth in painful duty, is the common cause of men's seeking 
comfort from error ; even as the people of Israel, when they 
had no comfortable answer from God, because of their own 
sin and neglect, would run to seek it from the idols of the 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 209 

Heathens : so when men are false hearted, and the Spirit of 
truth denies them comfort, because they deny him obedience, 
they will seek it from a lying spirit. 

My advice to such a lazy sinner, is this : as thou art 
convicted that this work is necessary to thy comfort, so 
resolvedly set upon it : if thy heart draw back, and be 
undisposed, force it on with the command of reason ; and if 
thy reason begin to dispute the work, force it with producing 
the command of God : and quicken it with the consideration 
of thy necessity, and the other motives before propounded : 
and let the enforcements that brought thee to the work, 
be still in thy mind to quicken thee in it. Do not let such 
an incomparable treasure lie before thee, while thou liest 
still with thy hand in thy bosom : let not thy life be a 
continual vexation, which might be a continual feast, and 
all because thou wilt not be at the pains. When thou hast 
once tasted the sweetness of it, and a little used thy heart 
to the work, thou wilt find the pains thou takest abundantly 
recompensed. Only sit not still with a disconsolate spirit, 
while comforts grow before thine eyes. Neither is it a ^ew 
formal, lazy, running thoughts, that will fetch thee this 
consolation from above; no more than a few lazy, formal 
words will prevail with God instead of fervent prayer. I 
know Christ is the fountain, and I know this, as every other 
gift, is of God : but yet if thou ask my advice, how to obtain 
these waters of consolation, I must tell thee, there is some- 
thing also for thee to do : the gospel hath its conditions and 
works, though not such impossible ones, as the law ; Christ 
hath his yoke and his burden, though easy, and thou must 
take it up, or thou wilt never find rest to thy soul. I know 
so far as you are spiritual, you need not all this striving and 
violence, but that is but in part, and in part you are carnal ; 
and as long as it is so, there is no talk of ease, It was the 
Parthians 5 custom, that none must give their children any 
meat in the morning, before they saw the sweat on their 
faces : and you shall find this to be God's most usuai course, 
not to give his children the taste of his delights, till they 
begin to sweat in seeking after them. Therefore lay them 
both together, and judge whether a heavenly life, or thy 
ease, be better; and make the choice accordingly. Yet thi3 
let me say, thou needest not expend thy thoughts more than 
now thou dost ; it is but only to employ them better : I press 
thee not to busy thy mind much more than thou dost; but 
to busy it upon better and more pleasant objects. Employ 
but so many serious thoughts every day, upon the excellent 
glory of the life to come, as thou now employest on the 
affairs in the world ; nay, as thou daily lcsest on vanities, 
and thy heart will be at heaven in a short space. 

18* 



210 the saint's everlasting rest. 

7. It is also a dangerous hinderance, to content ourselves 
with the mere preparatives to this heavenly life, while we 
are strangers to the life itself: when we take up with the 
mere studies of heavenly things, and the notions and thoughts 
of them in our brain,, or the talking of them with one another* 
as if this were all that makes us heavenly people. There is 
none in more danger of this snare, than those that are much 
in public duty, especially preachers of the gospel. O how 
easily may they be deceived here, while they do nothing 
more than read of heaven, and study of heaven, and preach 
of heaven, and pray, and talk of heaven t What, is not this 
the heayenly life ? O that God would reveal to our hearts 
the danger of this snare ! Alas, all this, is but mere prepara- 
tion : this is not the life we speak of, though it is a help 
thereto. I entreat every one of my brethren in the ministry* 
that they search and watch against this temptation: this is 
but gathering the materials, and not the erecting the build- 
ing : this i& but gathering manna for others, not eating and 
digesting it ourselves: as he that sits at home may study 
geography, and draw most exact descriptions of countries, 
and ye% never see them, nor travel toward them ; so may 
you describe to others the joys of heaven, and yet never 
come near it in your own hearts : if you should study of 
nothing but heaven while you lived, and preach of nothing 
but heaven to your people,, yet might your own hearts be 
strangers to it : we are under a more subtle temptation than, 
other men to draw us from this heavenly life : if our employ- 
ments lay at a greater distance from heaven, we should not 
be so apt to be thus deluded : but when we find ourselves 
employed upon nothing else, we are easier drawn to take 
up here,, Studying and preaching of heaven is more like to 
a heavenly life, than thinking and talking of the world is, 
and: the likeness it is that may deceive us : this is to die the 
most miserable death, even to famish ourselves, because we 
have bread on our tables, and to die for thirst while we draw 
water for others : thinking it enough that we have daily to 
do with it,, though we never drink it. 



CHAPTER IV. 

SOME GENERAL HELPS TO HEAVENLY MINDEDNESS* 

Having thus showed thee what hinderances will resist 
thee in the work, I shall now lay down some positive helps. 
But first, I expect that tnou resolve against the foremen- 
tioned impediments, that thou read them seriously, and 
avoid them faithfully, or else thy labour will be all in vain ; 
thou dost but go about to reconcile light and darkness, 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 21 f 

Christ and Belial, heaven and hell, in thy spirit. I must tell 
thee also, that I expect thy promise, faithfully to set upon 
the helps which I prescribe thee ; and that the reading of 
them will not bring heaven into thy heart, but in their con- 
stant practice the Spirit will do it. 

As thou valuest then these foretastes of heaven, make 
conscience of performing these following duties : 

1. Know heaven to be the only treasure, and labour to 
know what a treasure it is : be convinced that thou hast no 
other happiness, and be convinced what happiness is there : 
if thou dost hot soundly believe it to be the chief good, thou 
wilt never set thy heart upon it ; and this conviction must 
sink into thy affections : for if it be only a notion, it will 
have Utile operation. 

2. Labour as to know heaven to be the only happiness, so 
also to be thy happiness. Though the knowledge of excel- 
lency and suitableness may stir up that love which worketh. 
by desire, yet there must be the knowledge of our interest 
or propriety to the setting at work our love of complacency. 
We may confess heaven to be the best condition, though we 
despair of enjoying it ; and we may desire and seek it, if we 
see the obtainment to be but probable ; but we can never 
delightfully rejoice in it, till we are persuaded of our title to 
it. What comfort is it to a man that is naked, to see the 
rich attire of others ? Or, to a man that hath not a bit ta 
put in his mouth, to see a feast which he must not taste of? 
What delight hath a man that hath not a house to put his 
head in, to see the sumptuous buildings of others ? Would 
not all this rather increase his anguish, and make him more 
sensible of his misery ? So, for a man to know the excel 
lencies of heaven, and not to know whether he shall ever 
enjoy them, may well raise desire to seek it, but it will raise 
but little joy and content. 

3. Another help to the foretaste of rest is this : labour to 
apprehend how near it is : think seriously of its speedy 
approach. That which we think is near at hand, we are 
more sensible of than that which we behold at a distance. 
When we hear of war or famine in another country, it 
troubleth us not so much ; or if we hear it prophesied of a 
long time hence : so if we hear of plenty a great way off, or 
of a golden age that shall fall out, who knows when, this 
never rejoieeth us. But if judgments or mercies draw near, 
then they affect us. This makes men think on heaven so 
insensibly, because they conceit it at a great distance : they 
look on it as twenty, or thirty, or forty years off; and this 
it is that dulls their sense. As wicked men are fearless and 
senseless of judgment, because the sentence is not speedily 
executed; so are the good deceived of their comforts, by 



212 the saint's everlasting rest. 

supposing them further off than they are. How much 
better were it to receive the sentence of death in ourselves, 
and to look on eternity as near at hand ? Surely, reader, 
thou stand est at the door, and hundreds of diseases are ready 
waiting to open the door and let thee in. Are not the thirty 
or forty years of thy life that are past, quickly gone? Are 
they not a very little time when thou lookest back on them ? 
And will not all the rest be shortly so too ? Do not days 
and nights come very thick ? Dost thou not feel that building 
of flesh to shake, and perceive thy house of clay to totter ? 
Look on thy glass, see how it runs : look on thy watch, how 
fast it goeth ; what a short moment is between us and our 
rest ; what a step is it from hence to everlastingness ! While 
I am thinking and writing of it, it hasteth near, and I am 
even entering into it before I am aware. While thou art 
reading this, it posteth on, and thy life will be gone as a 
tale that is told. Mayest thou not easily foresee thy dying 
time, and look upon thyself as ready to depart? It is but a 
few days till thy friends shall lay thee in the grave, and 
others do the like for them. If you verily believed you 
should die to-morrow, how seriously would you think of 
heaven to-night ! The true apprehensions of the nearness of 
eternity, doth make men's thoughts of it quick and piercing ; 
put life into their fears and sorrows, if they be unfit ; and 
into their desires and joys, if they have assurance of its glory. 
4. Another help to this is, to be much in serious discours- 
ing of it, especially with those that can speak from their 
hearts. It is pity (saith Mr. Bolton) that Christians should 
ever meet together, without some talk of their meeting in 
heaven : it is pity so much precious time is spent in vain 
discourses, and useless disputes, and not a sober word of 
heaven. Methinks we should meet together on purpose to 
warm our spirits with discoursing of our rest. To hear a 
minister or private Christian set forth that glorious state, 
with power and life from the promises of the gospel, methinks 
should make us say, as the two disciples, "Did not our 
hearts burn within us, while he was opening to us the 
Scripture ?" While he was opening to us the windows- of 
heaven? Get then together, fellow Christians, and talk of 
the affairs of your country and kingdom, and comfort one 
another with such words. This may make our hearts revive 
within us, as it did Jacob's to hear the message that called 
him to Goshen, and to see the chariots that should bring 
him to Joseph. O that we were furnished with skill and 
resolution to turn the stream of men's common discourse to 
these more sublime and precious things! And when men 
begin to talk of things unprofitable, that we could tell how 
to put in a word for heaven. 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 213 

5. Another help is this; make it thy business in every 
duty, to wind up thy affections nearer heaven- A man's 
attainments from God are answerable to his own desires 
and ends ; that which he sincerely seeks he finds : God's 
end in the institution of his ordinances was, that they be as 
so many stepping stones to our rest, and as the stairs by 
which (in subordination to Christ) we may daily ascend 
unto it in our affections : let this be thy end in using them, 
as it was God's end in ordaining them ; and doubtless they 
will not be unsuccessful. Men that are separated by sea 
and land, can yet, by letters, carry en great trades, even to 
the value of their whole estate : and may not a Christian 
in the wise improvement of duties, drive on this happy trade 
for rest ? Come not therefore with any lower ends to duties ; 
renounce familiarity, customariness, and applause. When 
thou kneelest down in secret or public prayer, let it be in 
hope to get thy heart nearer God before thou risest off thy 
knees : when thou openest thy Bible or other books, let it 
be with this hope, to meet with some passage of Divine 
truth, and some such blessings of the Spirit with it, as may 
raise thine affections nearer heaven : when thou art setting 
thy foot out of thy door to go to the public worship,, say, I 
liope to meet with somewhat from God that rrray raise my 
affections before I return ; I hope the Spirit will give me the 
meeting, and sweeten my heart with those celestial delights ;- 
I hope that Christ will appear to me in the way, and shine 
about me with light from heaven, and let me hear his 
Instructing and reviving voice, and cause the scales to fall 
from mine eyes, that I may see more of that, glory than I 
ever yet saw ; I hope before I return to my house, my Lord 
will take my heart in hand, and bring it within the view of 
rest, and set it before his Father's presence, that I may 
return as the shepherds from the heavenly vision, glorifying 
and praising God. Remember also to pray for thy teacher, 
that God would put some divine message into his mouth, 
which may leave a heavenly relish on thy spirit. 

If these were our ends, and this our course, when we set 
to duty, we should not be so strange as we are to heaven. 

6. Another help is this ; make an advantage of every 
object thou seest, and of every passage of Divine Providence* 
and of every thing that befalls thee in thy labour and calling, 
to mind thy soul of its approaching rest. As all providences 
and creatures are means to our rest, so do they point us to 
that as their end. Every creature hath the name of God 
and of our final rest written upon it, which a considerate 
believer may as truly discern, as he can read upon a hand 
in a cross-way the name of the town or city it points to. 
This spiritual use of creatures and providences is God's. 



214 the saint's everlasting rest. 

great end in bestowing them on man ; and he that overlooks 
this end, must needs rob God of his chief praise, and deny 
him the greatest part of his thanks. This relation that our 
present mercies have to our great eternal mercies, is the 
very quintessence and spirit of all these mercies ; therefore 
do they lose the very spirit of all their mercies, and take 
nothing but the hirsks, who overlook this relation, and draw 
not forth the sweetness of it in their contemplations. God's 
sweetest dealings with us would not be half so sweet as 
hey are, if they did not intimate some further sweetness. 
As ourselves have a fleshly and spiritual substance, so have 
our mercies a fleshly and spiritual use,, and are fitted to the 
nourishing of both our parts. He that receives the carnal 
part, and no more, may have his body comforted by them, 
out not his soul. O, therefore, that Christians were skilled 
in this art ! You can open your Bibles, and read there of 
God and of glory : O learn to open the creatures, and the 
several passages of Providence, to read of God and glory 
there. Certainly, by such a skilful improvement, we might 
have a fuller taste of Christ and heaven, in every bit we eat, 
and in every draught we drink, than most men have in the 
use of the sacrament. 

If thou prosper in the world, let it make thee more sensible 
of thy perpetual prosperity : if thou be weary of thy labours, 
let it make thy thoughts of rest more sweet: if things go 
cross with thee, let it make thee more earnestly desire that 
day, when all thy sufferings and sorrow shall cease. Is thy 
body refreshed with food or sleep? remember the inconceiv- 
able refreshings with Christ. Dost thou hear any news that 
makes thee glad? remember what glad tidings it will be to 
hear the sound of the trump of God, and the absolving 
sentence of Christ our judge. Art thou delighting thyself 
in ths society of the saints ? remember the everlasting 
amiable society thou shalt have with perfected saints in rest. 
Is God communicating himself to thy spirit ? remember that 
time when thy joy shall be full. Dost thou hear or feel the 
tempest of wars, or see any cloud of blood arising? remem- 
ber the day that thou shalt be housed with Christ, where 
there is nothing but calmness and amiable union, and where 
we shall solace ourselves in perfect peace, under the wings t 
of the Prince of Peace. Thus you may see what advantages 
to a heavenly life every condition and creature doth afford 
us, if we have but hearts to apprehend and improve them. 

7. Another singular help is this : be much in that angelical 
work of praise. As the most heavenly spirits will have the 
most heavenly employment, so the more heavenly the em- 
ployment, the more will it make the spirit heavenly : though 
the heart be the fountain of all our actions, yet do those 



the saint's everlasting hest. 215 

actions, by a kind of reflection, work much on the heart from 
whence they spring; the like also maybe said of our speeches. 
So that the work of praising God, being tne most heavenly 
work, is likely to raise us to the most heavenly temper. 
This is the work of those saints and angels, and this will be 
our own everlasting work : if we were more taken up in this 
employment now, we should be liker to what we shall be 
then. When Aristotle was asked what he thought of music, 
he answers, " Jovem neque canere neque citharam pulsare ;" 
that Jupiter did neither sing nor play on the harp ; thinking 
it an unprofitable art to men, which was no more delightful 
to God. But Christians may better argue from the like 
ground, that singing of praise is a most profitable duty, 
because it is as it were so delightful to God himself, that he 
hath made it his people's eternal work ; for " they shall sing 
the song of Moses, and the song of the Lamb." As desire, 
and faith, and hope, are of shorter continuance than love 
and joy ; so also preaching, and prayer, and sacraments, and 
all means for confirmation, and expression of faith and hope 
shall cease, when our thanks, and praise, and triumphant 
expressions of love and joy, shall abide for ever. The live- 
liest emblem of heaven that I know upon earth is, when the 
people of God, in the deep sense of his excellency and bounty, 
from hearts abounding with love and joy, join together both 
in heart and voice, in the cheerful and melodious singing of 
his praise. Those that deny the use of singing, disclose 
their unheavenly unexperienced hearts, as well as their 
ignorant understandings. Had they felt the heavenly delights 
that many of their brethren in such duties nave felt, they 
would have been of another mind ! And whereas they are 
wont to question, whether such delights be genuine, or any 
better than carnal or delusive ; surely the very relish of God 
and heaven that is in them, the example of the saints, in 
Scripture, whose spirits have been raised by the same duty 
and the command of Scripture for the use of this means, 
one would think should quickly destroy the controversy. 
And a man may as truly say of these delights, as of the 
testimony of the Spirit, that they witness themselves to be 
of God. 

Little do we know how we wrong ourselves, by shutting 
out of our prayers the praises of God. or allowing them so 
narrow a room as we usually do. Reader, I entreat thee, 
remember this : let praises have a larger room in thy duties ; 
keep ready at hand matter to feed thy praise, as well as 
matter for confession and petition. To this end study the 
excellencies and goodness of the Lord, as frequently as thy 
own necessities and vileness ; study the mercies which thou 
hast received, and which are promised ; both their own 



216 the saint's EVERLASTING rest. 

worth and their aggravating circumstances, as often as thou 
studiest the sins thou hast committed. O let God's praise 
be much in your mouths. Seven times a day did David 
praise him : yea, his praise was continually of him. As he 
that offereth praise glorifieth God, so doth he most rejoice 
and glad his own soul. "Offer therefore the sacrifice of 
praise continually : in the midst of the church let us sing 
his praise." 

I confess, to a man of a languishing body, where the heart 
faints, and the spirits are feeble, the cheerful praising of God 
is more difficult ; because the body is the soul's instrument, 
and when it lies unstringed, or untuned, the music is likely 
to be accordingly. Yet a spiritual cheerfulness there may 
be within, and the heart may praise, if not the voice. But 
where the body is strong, the spirits lively, and the heart 
cheerful, and the voice at command, what advantage have 
such for this heavenly work ? With what alacrity may they 
sing forth praises ? O the madness of healthful youth, that 
lay out this vigour of body and mind upon vain delights, 
which is so fit for the noblest work of men ! And O the 
sinful folly of many who drench their spirits in continual 
sadness, and waste their days in complaints and groans, 
and so make themselves unfit for this sweet and heavenly 
work ! that when they should join with the people of God 
in his praise, and delight their souls in singing to his name, 
they are studying their miseries, and so rob God of his 
praise, and themselves of their solace. But the greatest 
destroyer of our comfort in this duty is our sticking in the 
tune and melody, and suffering the heart to be all the while 
idle, which should perform the chief part of the work. 

8. Another thing I will advise you to is this : be a careful 
observer of the drawings of the Spirit, and fearful of quench- 
ing its motions, of resisting its workings : if ever thy soul 
get above this earth, and get acquainted with this living in 
heaven, the Spirit of God must be to thee as the chariot to 
Elijah; yea, the very living principle by which thou must 
move and ascend to heaven. O then grieve not thy guide, 
quench not thy life: if thou dost, no wonder if thy soul be 
at a loss : you little think how much the life of all your 
graces depends upon your ready and cordial obedience to 
the Spirit: when the Spirit urgeth thee to secret prayer, 
and thou refusest obedience ; when he forbids thee a known 
transgression, and yet thou wilt go on ; when he lelleth thee 
which is the way, and which not, and thou wilt not regard, 
no wonder if heaven and thy soul be strange : if thou wilt 
not follow the Spirit, while it would draw thee to Christ, 
and to duty ; how should it lead thee to heaven, and bring 
thy heart into the presence of God ? O what bold access 



the! saint's EVERLASTING rest. 217 

shall that soul find in its approaches to the Almighty, that 
is accustomed to a constant obeying of the Spirit. And 
how backward, how dull, and strange, and ashamed, will 
he be to these addresses, who hath long used to break away 
from the Spirit that would have guided him ! I beseech 
thee learn well this lesson, and try this course : let not the 
motions of thy body only, but the thoughts of thy heart, be 
at the Spirit's beck. Dost thou not feel sometimes a strong 
impulsion to retire from the world, and draw near to God ? 
O do not thou disobey, but take the offer, and hoist up sail 
while thou mayest have this blessed gale. When this wind 
blows strongest, thou goest fastest, either backward or for- 
ward. The more of this Spirit we resist, the deeper will it 
wound, and th3 more we obey, the speedier is our pace; as 
he goes heaviest that hath the wind in his face, and he 
easiest that hath it in his back. 



CHAPTER V, 

A DESCRIPTION OF HEAVENLY CONTEMPLATION. 

The main thing intended is yet behind, and that which I 
aimed at when I set upon this work. All that I have said is 
but the preparation to this. I once more entreat thee, there- 
fore, as thou art a man that makest conscience of a revealed 
duty, and that darest not wilfully resist the Spirit ; as thou 
vainest the high delights of a saint, and as thou art faithful 
to the peace and prosperity of thine own soul ; that thou 
diligently study the directions following, and that thou 
speedily and faithfully put them in practice : I pray thee, 
therefore, resolve before thou readest any further, and pro- 
mise here, as before the Lord, that if the following advice 
be wholesome to thy soul, thou wilt seriously set thyself to 
the work, and that no laziness of spirit shall take thee, off, 
nor lesser business interrupt thy course, but that thou wilt 
approve thyself a doer of this word, and not an idle hearer 
only. Is this thy promise, and wilt thou stand to it? Resolve, 
man, and then 1 shall be encouraged to give thee my advice ; 
only try it thoroughly, and then judge : if in the faithful 
following of this course tho^ dost not find an increase of all 
thy graces, and art not male more serviceable in thy place; 
if thy soul enjoy not more fellowship with God, and thy life 
be not fuller of pleasure, and thou have not comfort readier 
by thee at a dying h^pr, and when thou hast greatest need; 
then throw these directions back in my face, and exclaim 
against me as a deceiver for ever : except God should leave 
thee uncomfortable for a little season, for the more glorious 
manifestation of his attributes, and thy integrity ; and single 

19 



218 the saint's everlasting rest. 

thee out as he did Job, for an example of constancy and 
patience, which would be but a preparative for thy fullest 
comfort. Certainly God will not forsake this his own ordi- 
nance, but will be found of those that thus diligently seek 
him. God hath, as it were, appointed to meet thee in this 
way : do not thou fail to give him the meeting, and thou 
shalt find by experience that he will not fail. 

The duty which I press upon thee so earnestly, I shall 
now describe : it is the set and solemn acting of all the 
powers of the soul upon this most perfect object [rest] by 
meditation. 

I will a little more fully explain the meaning of this 
description, that so the duty may lie plain before thee. 
1. The general title that I give this duty is, r.ieditation : not 
as it is precisely distinguished from cogitation, consideration, 
and contemplation; but as it is taken in the larger and 
usual sense for cogitation on things spiritual, and so com- 
prehending consideration and contemplation. 

That meditation is a duty of God's ordaining, not only irs 
his written law, but also in nature itself, I never met with 
the man that would deny: but that it is a duty constantly 
practised, I must, with sorrow, deny : it is in word confessed 
to be a duty by all, but by the constant neglect denied by 
most : and (I know not by what fatal security it comes to 
pass, that) men that are very tender conscienced toward 
most other duties, yet as easily overslip thi«, as if they 
knew it not to be a duty at all; they that are presently 
troubled if they omit a sermon, a fast, a prayer in public or 
private, yet were never troubled that they have omitted 
meditation, perhaps, all their lifetime to this very day: 
though it be that duty by which all other duties are improv- 
ed, and by which the soul digesteth truths, and draweth 
forth their strength for its nourishment. Certainly, I think, 
that as a man is but half an hour taking into his stomach 
that meat which he must have seven or eight hours to 
digest ; so a man may take into his understanding and 
memory more truth. in one hour, than he is able well to 
digest in many. Therefore God commanded Joshua, " That 
the bouK of the law should not depart out of his mouth, but 
that he should meditate therein day and night : that he 
might observe to do according to that which is written 
therein." As digestion is the turning the food into chyle 
and blood, and spirits and flesh ; so meditation, rightly 
managed, turneth the truths receivedffcnd remembered into 
warm affection, raised resolution, and holy conversation. 
Therefore what good those men are likely to get by sermons 
or providences, who are unaccustomed to meditation, you 
may easily judge. And why so much preaching is lost 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. £19 

among us, and men can run from sermon to sermon, and 
yet have such languishing starved souls, I know no truer 
cause than their neglect of meditation. If men heard one 
hour and meditated seven ; if they did as constantly digest 
their sermons as they hear them, they would find another 
kind of benefit by sermons, than the ordinary sort of Chris- 
tians do. 

But because meditation is a general word, and it is not all 
meditation that I here intend, I shall therefore lay down the 
difference whereby this I am urging is discerned from all 
other sorts of meditation. And the difference is taken from 
the act, and from the object of it. 

From the act, which I call the set and solemn acting of all 
the powers of the soul. 

1. I call it the acting of them, for it is action that we are 
directing you in now, and not dispositions ; yet these also 
are necessarily presupposed : it must be a soul that is quali- 
fied for the work, by tue supernatural grace of the Spirit, 
which must be able to perform this heavenly exercise. It 
is a work of the living, and not of the dead : it is a work of 
all other the most spiritual, and therefore not to be well 
performed by a heart that is merely carnal. 

2. I call this meditation the acting of the powers of the 
soul, meaning the soul as rational. It is the work of the 
soul ; for bodily exercise doth here profit but little. The 
soul hath its labour and its ease, its business and its idleness, 
as well as the body ; and diligent students are usually as 
sensible of the labour and weariness of their spirits, as they 
are of that of the members of the body. This action of the 
soul is it I persuade thee to. 

3. I call it the acting of all the powers of the soul, to 
difference it from the common meditation of students, which 
is usually the mere employment of the brain. It is not a 
bare thinking that I mean, nor the mere use of invention or 
memory, but a business of a higher and more excellent 
nature. 

The understanding is not the whole soul, and therefore 
cannot do the whcle work : as God hath made several parts 
in man, to perform their several offices for his nourishment 
and life ; so hath he ordained the faculties of the soul to 
perform their several offices for his spiritual life ; so the 
understanding must take in truths, and prepare them for 
the will, and it must receive them, and commend them to 
the affections : the best digestion is in the bottom of the 
stomach ; the affections are as it were the bottom of the 
soul, and therefore the best digestion is there; while truth 
is but a speculation swimming in the brain, the soul hath 
not taken fast hold of it : Christ and heaven have various 



280 the saint's everlasting rest. 

excellencies, and therefore God hath formed the soul with a 
power of divers ways of apprehending, that so we might be 
capable of enjoying those excellencies. 

What good could all the glory of heaven have done us ? 
or what pleasure should we have had in the goodness of 
God himself, if we had been without the affections of love 
and joy, whereby we are capable of being delighted in that 
goodness ? So also, what strength or sweetness canst thou 
receive by thy meditations on eternity, while thou dost not 
exercise those affections which are the senses of the soul, 
by which it must receive this strength and sweetness ! 

This is it that hath deceived Christians in this business: 
they have thought meditation is nothing but the bare think* 
ing on truths, and the rolling of them in the understanding 
and memory, when every school boy can do this. 

Therefore this is the great task in hand, and this is the 
work that I would set thee on ; to get these truths from thy 
head to thy heart; that all the sermons which thou hast 
heard of heaven, and all the notions thou hast conceived of 
this rest, may be turned into the blood and spirit of affection, 
and thou may est feel them revive thee, and warm thee at 
the heart, and may est so think of heaven, as heaven should 
be thought on. 

If thou shouldst study nothing but heaven while thou 
livest, and shouldst have thy thoughts at command, to turn 
them thither on every occasion, and yet shouldst proceed no 
further than this, this were not the meditation that I intend- 
ed : as it is thy whole soul that must possess God hereafter, 
so must the whole in a lower manner possess him here. I 
have shown you, in the beginning of this treatise, how the 
soul must enjoy the Lord in glory, to wit, by knowing, by 
loving, by joying in him : why, the very same way must 
thou begin thy enjoyment here. 

So much as thy understanding and affections are sincerely 
acted upon God, so much dost thou enjoy him : and this is 
the happy work of this meditation. So that you see here is 
somewhat more to be done, than barely to remember and 
think of heaven : as running, and such like labours, do not 
only stir a hand or foot, but strain and exercise the whole 
body ; so doth meditation the whole soul. 

As the whole was filled with sin before, so the whole must 
be filled with God now ; as St. Paul saith of knowledge, and 
gifts, and faith, to remove mountains, that if thou hast all 
these without love, thou art but " as a sounding brass, or as 
a tinkling cymbal," so I may say of the exercise of these, if 
in this work of meditation, thou exercise knowledge, and 
gifts, and faith of miracles, and not love and joy, thou dost 
nothing; if thy meditation tends to fill thy note book with 



THE SAINT ? S EVERLASTING REST. 221 

notions and good sayings concerning God, and not thy 
heart with longings after him, and delight in him, for aught 
I know thy book is as much a Christian as thou. 

I call this meditation set and solemn, to difference it from 
that which is occasional. As there is prayer which is 
solemn, when we set ourselves wholly to the duty ; and 
prayer whi^h is sudden and short, commonly called ejacu- 
lations, when a man in the midst of other business doth send 
up some brief request to God : so also there is meditation 
solemn, when we apply ourselves only to that work; and 
there is meditation which is short and cursory, when in 
the midst of our business we have some good thoughts of 
God in our minds. And as solemn prayer is either first set, 
when a Christian observing it as a standing duty, doth 
resolvedly practise it in a constant course ; or secondly, 
occasional, when some unusual occasion doth put us upon 
it at a season extraordinary : so also meditation. 

Now, though I would persuade you to that meditation 
which is mixed with your common labours, and to that 
which special occasions direct you to ; yet these are not the 
main things which I here intend : but that you would make 
it a constant standing duty, as you do hearing, and praying, 
and reading the Scripture, and that you would solemnly set 
yourselves about it, and make it for that time your whole 
work, and intermix other matters no more with it, than you 
would do with praying, or other duties. Thus you see 
what kind of meditation it is that we speak of, viz. the set 
and solemn acting of all the powers of the soul. 

The second part of the difference is drawn from its object, 
which is rest, or the most blessed estate of man in his ever- 
lasting enjoyment of God in heaven. Meditation hath a 
large field to walk in, and hath as many objects to work 
upon, as there are matters, and lines, and words in the 
Scriptures, as there are known creatures in the whole crea- 
tion, and as there are particular discernible passages of 
Providence in the government of persons and actions through 
the world : but the meditation that I now direct you in, is 
only of the end of all these, and of these as they refer to 
that end : it is not a walk from mountains to valleys, from 
sea to land, from kingdom to kingdom, from planet to planet ; 
but it is a walk from mountains and valleys to the holy 
mount Sion; from sea and land to the land of the living; 
from the kingdoms oi this world to the kingdom of saints; 
from earth to heaven ; from time to eternity. It is a walking 
upon the sun, and moon, and stars ; it is a walk in the garden 
and paradise of God. It may seem far off; hut spirits are 
quick ; whether in the body, or out of the body, their motion 
is swift : they are not so heavy or dull as these earthly lumps v 

19* 



222 the saint's everlasting rest. 

nor so slow of motion as these clods of flesh. I would not 
have you cast off your other meditations ; but surely as 
heaven hath the pre-eminence in perfection, so should it 
have the pre-eminence also in our meditation : that which 
will make us most happy when we possess it, will make us 
most joyful when we meditate upon it ; especially when 
that meditation is a degree of possession, if it be such affect- 
ing meditation as I here describe. 

You need not here be troubled with fear, lest studying so 
much on these high matters should make you mad. If I 
set you to meditate as much on sin and wrath, and to study 
nothing but judgment and damnation, then you might fear 
such an issue : but it is heaven, and not hell, that I would 
persuade you to walk in ; it is joy, and not sorrow, that 
I persuade you to exercise. I would urge you to look 
on no deformed object, but only upon the ravishing glory 
of saints, and the unspeakable excellencies of the God of 
glory, and the beams that stream from the face of his Son- 
Are these sad thoughts? Will it distract a man to think of 
his happiness ? Will it distract the miserable to think of 
mercy ? Or the captive, or prisoner, to foresee deliverance ? 
Neither do I persuade your thoughts to matters of great 
difficulty, or to study knotted controversies of heaven, or to 
search out things beyond your reach. If you should thus 
set your wit upon the tenters, you might quickly be dis- 
tracted indeed ; but it is your affections more than your 
inventions that must be used in this heavenly employment 
we speak of. They are truths which are commonly known* 
which your souls must draw forth and feed upon. The resms 
rection of the body, and the life everlasting, are articles of 
your creed, and not nicer controversies. Methinks it should 
be liker to make a man mad, to think of living in a world of 
wo, to think of abiding among the rage of wicked men, than 
to think of living with Christ in bliss ; methinks, if we be 
not mad already, it should sooner distract us, to hear the 
tempests and roaring waves, to see the billows, and rocks, 
and sands, and gulfs, than to think of arriving safe at rest. 
" But wisdom is justified of all her children." Knowledge 
hath no enemy but the ignorant. This heavenly course 
was never spoken against by any, but those that never either 
knew it, or used it. I more fear the neglect of men that 3o 
approve it. Truth loseth much more by loose friends, than 
by the sharpest enemies. 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 223 



CHAPTER VI. 

THE FITTEST TIME AND PLACE FOR THIS CONTEMPLATION, AND 
THE PREPARATION OF THE HEART UNTO IT. 

Thus I have opened to you the nature of this duty ; I 
proceed to direct you in the work ; where I shall, First, Show 
you how you must set upon it ; Secondly, How you must 
behave in it ; and Thirdly, How you shall shut it up. I 
advise thee, 1. Somewhat concerning the time. 2. Some- 
what concerning the place. And 3. Somewhat concerning 
the frame of thy spirit. 

And 1. For the time, I advise thee that as much as may 
be, it be set and constant. Proportion out such a part of 
thy time to the work. 

Stick not at their scruple, who question the stating of 
times as superstitious ; if thou suit out thy time to the 
advantage of the work, and place no religion in the time 
itself; thou needest not to fear lest this be superstition. As 
a workman in his shop will have a set place for every one 
of his tools, or else when he should use it, it may be to 
seek ; so a Christian should have a set time for every ordi- 
nary duty, or else when he should practise it, it is ten to 
one but he will be put by it. Stated time is a hedge to duty, 
and defends it against many temptations to omission. God 
hath stated none but the Lord's day himself: but he hath 
left it to be stated by ourselves, according to every man's 
condition and occasions, lest otherwise his law should have 
been a burden or a snare. Yet hath he left us general rules, 
which by the use of reason, and Christian prudence, may 
help us to determine the fittest times. 

It is, as ridiculous a question of them that ask us, "Where' 
Scripture commands to pray so oft, or at such hours ? as if 
they asked, Where the Scripture commands that the church 
stand in such a place? or the pulpit in such a place? or my 
seat in such a place ? or where it commands a man to read 
the Scriptures with a pair of spectacles ? 

Most that I have known to argue against a stated time, 
have at last grown careless of the duty itself, and showed 
more dislike against the work than the time. If God gave 
me so much money or wealth, and tell me not in Scripture 
how much such a poor man must have, nor how much my 
family, nor how much in clothes, and how much in expenses, 
is it not lawful, yea, and necessary, that I make the division; 
myself, and allow to each the due portion? So if God doth 
bestow on me a day or week of time, and give me such and 
such work to do in this time, and tell me not how much J 



224 the saint's everlasting rest. 

shall allot to each work ; certainly I must make the division 
myself, and proportion it wisely and carefully too. Though 
God hath not told you at what hour you shaH rise in the 
morning, or at what hours you shall eat and drink ; yet 
your own reason and experience will tell you, that ordinarily 
you should observe a stated time. Neither let the fear of 
customariness and formality deter you from this. This 
argument hath brought the Lord's Supper from once a week 
to once a quarter, or once a year ; and it hath brought family 
duties, with too many of late, from twice a day to once a 
week, or once a month. , 

I advise thee, therefore, if well thou mayest, to allow this 
duty a stated time, and be as constant in it, as in hearing 
and praying : yet be cautious in understanding this. 1 know 
this will not prove every man's duty: some have not them- 
selves and their time at command, and therefore cannot set 
their hours ; such are most servants, and many children of 
poor parents; and many are so poor, that the necessity of 
their families will deny them this freedom. I do not think 
it the duty of such to leave their labours for this work just 
at certain set times, no nor for prayer. Of two duties we 
must choose the greater, though of two sins we must choose 
neither. I think su^h persons were best to be watchful, to 
redeem time as much as they can, and take their vacant 
opportunities as they fall, and especially to join meditation 
and prayer, as much as they can, with the labours of their 
callings. There is no such enmity between labouring, and 
meditating or praying in the Spirit, but that both may be 
done together ; yet I say, as Paul in another case, " If thou 
canst be free, use it rather." Those that have more spare 
time, I still advise, that they keep this duty to a stated time. 
And indeed it were no ill husbandry, nor point of folly, if 
we did so by all other duties; if we considered the ordinary 
works of the day, and suited out a fit season and proportion 
of time to every work, and fixed this in our memory and 
resolution, or wrote it in a table, and kept it in our closets, 
and never broke it but upon unexpected and extraordinary 
causes: if every work of the day had thus its appointed 
time, we should be better skilled, both in redeeming time, 
and performing duty. 

2. I advise thee also concerning thy time for this duty, 
that as it be stated, so it be frequent : just how oft it should 
be, I cannot determine, because men's conditions may vary 
it ; but in general, that it be frequent, the Scripture requireth, 
when it mentioneth meditating continually* and day and 
night. Circumstances of our condition may much vary the 
circumstance of our duties. It may be one man's duty to 
bear or pray oftener than another, and so it may be in this 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 

of meditation : but for those that can conveniently omit 
other business, I advise, that it be once a day at least. 
Though Scripture tells us not how oft in a day we should 
cat or drink, yet prudence and experience will direct us 
twice or thrice a day. 

Those that think they should not tie themselves to order 
and number of duties, but should then only meditate, or 
pray, when they find the Spirit provoking them to it, go 
upon uncertain and unchristian grounds. I am sure the 
Scripture provokes us to frequency, and our necessity 
secondeth the voice of Scripture ; and if through my own 
neglect, or resisting the Spirit, I do not find it so excite me, 
I dare not therefore disobey the Scripture, nor neglect the 
necessities of my own soul. I should suspect that spirit 
which would turn my soul from constancy in duty : if the 
Spirit in Scripture bid me meditate or pray, I dare not for- 
bear it, because I find not the Spirit within me to second the 
command : if I find not incitation to duty before, yet I may 
mid assistance while, I wait in performance. I am afraid of 
laying my corruptions upon the Spirit, or blaming the want 
of the Spirit's assistance, when I should blame the back- 
wardness of my own heart ; nor dare I make one corruption 
a plea for another; nor urge the inward rebellion of my 
nature, as a reason for the outward disobedience of my life ; 
and for the healing of my nature's backwardness, I more 
expect that the Spirit of Christ should do it in a way of 
duty, than in a way of disobedience and neglect of duty. 
Men that fall on duty according to the frame of their spirit 
only, are like our ignorant vulgar, who think their appetite 
should be the only rule of their eating ; when a wise man 
judgeth by reason and experience, lest when his appetite 19 
depraved, he should either surfeit or famish. Our appetite 
is no sure rule for our times of duty ; but the word of God 
in general, and our spiritual reason, experience, necessity, 
and convenience, in particular, may truly direct us. 

Three reasons especially should" persuade thee to fre- 
quency in this meditation on heaven. 

1. Because seldom conversing with him will breed a 
strangeness betwixt thy soul and God : frequent society 
breeds familiarity, and familiarity increaseth love and de- 
light, and maketh us bold and confident in our addresses. 
This is the main end of this duty, that thou mayest have 
acquaintance and fellowship with God therein ; therefore if 
thou come but seldom to it, thou wilt keep thyself a stranger 
still, and so miss of the end of the work. 

2. Seldomness will make thee unskilful in the work, and 
strange to the duty, as well as to God. How clumsily do 
men set their hands to a work they are seldom employed 



226 the saint's everlasting rest. 

in ! whereas, frequency will habituate thy heart to the work, 
and thou wilt better know the way in which thou daily 
walkest, yea, and it will be more easy and delightful also : 
the hill which made thee pant and blow at the first going up, 
thou mayest run up easily when thou art once accustomed 
to it. 

3. And lastly, Thou wilt lose that heat and life by long 
intermissions, which with much ado thou didst obtain in 
duty. If thou eat but a meal in twaor three days, thou wilt 
lose thy strength as fast as thou gettest it: if in holy medi- 
tation thou get near to Christ, and warm thy heart with the 
fire of love, if thou then turn away, and come but seldom, 
thou wilt soon return to thy former coldness. 

It is true, the intermixed use of other duties may do much 
to the keeping thy heart above, especially secret prayer: 
but meditation is the life of most other duties ; and the view 
of heaven is the life of meditation. 

3. Concerning the time of this duty, I advise thee, that 
thou choose the most seasonable time. All things are 
beautiful in their season. Unseasonableness may lose thee 
the fruit of thy labour ; it may raise disturbances and diffi- 
culties in the work; yea, it may turn a duty to sin; when 
the seasonableness of a duty doth make it easy, doth remove 
impediments, doth embolden us to the undertaking, and 
ripen its fruit. 

The seasons of this duty are either, first, ordinary; or 
secondly, extraordinary. 

First, The ordinary season of your daily performance 
cannot be particularly determined, otherwise God would 
have determined it in his word. Men's conditions of employ- 
ment, and freedom, and bodily temper, are so various, that 
the same may be a seasonable hour to one, which may be 
unseasonable to another. If thou be a servant, or a hard 
labourer, that thou hast not thy time at command, thou 
must take that season which thy business will best afford: 
either as thou sittest in the shop at thy work, or as thou 
travellest on the way, or as thou liest waking in the night. 
Every man best knows his own time, even when he hath 
the least to hinder him in the world : but for those whose 
necessities tie them not so close, but that they may choose 
what time of the day they will, my advice to such is, that 
they carefully observe the temper of their body and mind, 
and mark when they find their spirits most active and fit 
for contemplation, and pitch upon that as the stated time. 
Some men are freest for duties when they are fasting, 
and some are then unfittest of all. Every man is the 
meetest judge for himself. The time I have always found 
fittest for myself, is the evening, from sun setting to the 



The saint*s everlasting rest. 237 

twilight ; and some time in the night when it is warm and 
clear. 

The Lord's day is a time exceeding seasonable for this 
exercise. When should we more seasonably contemplate 
on rest, than on that day which doth typify it to usr 
Neither do I think that typifying use is ceased, because the 
antitype is not fully come. However, it being a day appro- 
priated to worship and spiritual duties, we should never 
exclude this duty, which is so eminently spiritual. I think 
verily this is the chief work of a Christian sabbath, and 
most agreeable to the intent of its positive institution. 
What fitter time to converse with our Lord, than on that 
day which he hath appropriated to such employment, and 
therefore called it the Lord's day? What fitter day to 
ascend to heaven than that on which our Lord did arise 
from earth, and fully triumph over death and hell, and take 
possession of heaven before us ? 

Two sorts of Christians I would entreat to take notice of 
this especially. 

1. Those that spend the Lord's day only in public wor- 
ship ; either through the neglect of meditation, or else by 
their overmuch exercise of the public, allowing no time to 
private duty: though there be few that offend in this kind; 
yet some there are, and a hurtful mistake to the soul it is. 
They will grow but in gifts, if they exercise but their gifts 
in outward performances. 

2. Those that have time on the Lord's day for idleness 
and vain discourse, and find the day longer than they know 
how well to spend: were these but acquainted with this 
duty of contemplation, they would need no other recreation ; 
they would think the longest riay short enough, and be sorry 
that the night had shortened their pleasure. 

Secondly, For the extraordinary performance, these fol- 
lowing are seasonable times : 

1. When God doth extraordinarily revive thy spirit. When 
God hath enkindled thy spirit with fire from above, it is 
that it may mount aloft more freely. It is a choice part of 
a Christian's skill, to observe the temper of his own spirit, 
and to observe the gale^ of grace, and how the Spirit of 
Christ doth move upon his. " Without Christ we can do 
nothing:" therefore let us be doing when he is doing; and 
be sure not to be out of *he way, nor asleep, when he comes. 
A little labour will set thy heart a going at such a time, when 
another time thou maye*t take pains to little purpose. 

2. When thou art cast ; nto troubles of mind through suf- 
ferings, or fear, or care, or temptations, then it is seasonable 
to address thyself to this duty. When should we take our 
cordials, but in our times of fainting ? When is it more 



228 the saint's everlasting rest. 

seasonable to walk to heaven, than when we know not in 
what corner on earth to live with comfort ? Or when should 
our thoughts converse above, but when they have nothing 
but grief to converse with below? 

Another fit season for this heavenly duty is, when the 
messengers of God summon us to die : when either our gray 
heirs, or our languishing bodies, or some such forerunners 
of death, tell us that our change cannot be far off; when 
should we more frequently sweeten our souls with the be- 
lieving thoughts of another life, than when we find that this 
is almost ended, and when flesh is raising fears and terrors? 
Surely no men have greater need of supporting joys than 
dying men ; and those joys must be fetched from our eternal 
joy. 

It now follows that I speak a word of the fittest place. 
Though God is every where to be found, yet some places 
are more convenient than others. 

1. As this is a private and spiritual duty, so it is most 
convenient that thou retire to some private place : our spirits 
have need of every help, and to be freed from every hinder- 
ance in the work. For occasional meditation I give thee 
not this advice ; but for set and solemn duty, I advise, that 
thou withdraw thyself from all society, that thou may est 
awhile enjoy the society of Christ. 

And as I advise thee to a place of retiredness ; so also 
that thou observe more particularly, what place or posture 
best agreeth with thy spirit ; whether within door, or with- 
out ; whether sitting still, or walking. I believe Isaac's 
example in this also, will direct us to the place and posture 
which will best suit with most, as it doth with me, viz. 
" His walking forth to meditate in the fields at the even 
tide." And Christ's own example gives us the like direction. 
Christ was used to a solitary garden ; and though he took 
his disciples thither with him, yet did he separate himself 
from them for more secret devotions. 

I am next to advise thee somewhat concerning the pre- 
parations of thy heart. The success of the work doth much 
depend on the frame of thy heart. When man's heart hath 
nothing in it that might grieve the Spirit, then was it the 
delightful habitation of his Maker. God did not quit his 
residence there, till man did repel him by unworthy provo- 
cations. Ther3 grew no strangeness till the heart grew 
sinful, and too loathsome a dungeon for God to delight in. 
And were this soul restored to its former innocency, God 
would quickly return to his former habitation; yea, so far 
as it is renewed and repaired by the Spirit, the Lord will 
yet acknowledge it his own, and Christ will manifest himself 
unto it, and the Spirit will take it for its temple and residence. 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 229 

So far as the soul is qualified for conversing with God, so 
far it doth actually enjoy him. Therefore " keep thy heart 
with all diligence, for from thence are the issues of life." 

More particularly, when thou settest on this duty, 1. Get 
thy heart as clear from the world as thou canst; wholly lay 
by the thoughts of thy business, of thy troubles, of thy 
enjoyments, and of every thing that may take up any room 
in thy soul. Get thy soul as empty as possibly thou canst, 
that so it may be the more capable of being filled with God. 
It is a work that will require ail the powers of thy soul, if 
they were a thousand times more capacious and active than 
they are, and therefore you have need to lay by all other 
thoughts and affections while you are busied here. 

2. Be sure thou set upon this work with the greatest 
seriousness that possibly thou canst. Customariness here 
is a killing sin. There is no trifling in holy things ; God 
will be sanctified of all that draw near him. These spiritual 
duties are the most dangerous, if we miscarry in them, of 
all. The more they advance the soul, being well used, the 
more they destroy it, being used unfaithfully; as the best 
meats corrupted are the worst. 

To help thee therefore to be serious when thou settest on 
this work, first, Labour to have the deepest apprehensions 
of the presence of God, and of the incomprehensible great- 
ness of the majesty which thou approachest. Think with 
what reverence thou shouldst approach thy Maker: think 
thou art addressing thyself to him " that made the worlds 
with the word of his mouth ; that upholds the earth as in 
the palm of his hand ; that keeps the sun, and moon, and 
heaven, in their courses ; that bounds the raging sea with 
the sands, and saith, Hitherto go, and no further.' 5 Thou 
art going to converse with him, before whom the earth will 
quake, and devils tremble ; before whose bar thou must 
shortly stand, and all the world with thee, to receive their 
doom. O think, I shall then have lively apprehensions of 
his majesty ; my drowsy spirits will then be wakened : why 
should I not now be roused with the sense of his greatness, 
and the dread of Vxis name possess my soul ? 

Secondly, Labour to apprehend the greatness of the work 
which thou attemptest, and to be deeply sensible both of its 
weight and height. If thou wert pleading for thy life at the 
bar of a judge, thou wouldst be serious ; and yet that were 
but a trifle to this. If thou were engaged in such a work as 
David was against Goliath, whereon the kingdom's deliver- 
ance depended, in itself considered, it were nothing to this. 
Suppose thou wert going to such a wrestling as Jacob's; 
suppose, thou wert going to see the sight which the three 
disciples saw in the mount ; how seriously, how reverently 

20 



230 the saint's everlasting rest. 

wouldst thou both approach and behold ! If some angel 
from heaven should but appoint to meet thee, at the time 
and place of thy contemplation, how apprehensively wouldst 
thou go to meet him ! Why, consider then with what a 
spirit thou shouldst meet the Lord, and with what serious- 
ness and dread thou shouldst daily converse with him. 

Consider also the blessed issue of the work. If it succeed, 
it will be an admission of thee into the presence of God, a 
beginning of thy eternal glory on earth; a means to make 
thee live above the rate of other men, and admit thee into 
the next room to the angels themselves ; a means to make 
thee live and die both joyfully and blessedly : so that the 
prize being so great, thy preparation should be answerable. 



CHAPTER VII. 

what affections must be acted, and by what considera- 
tions AND OBJECTS, AND IN WHAT ORDER. 

To draw the heart nearer the work ; the next thing to be 
discovered is, What powers of the soul must here be acted, 
what affections excited, what considerations are necessary 
thereto, and in what order we must proceed. 

1. You must go to the memory, which is the magazine or 
treasury of the understanding, thence you must take forth 
those heavenly doctrines which you intend to make the 
subject of your meditation. For the present purpose, you 
may look over any promise of eternal life in the gospel; 
any description of the glory of the saints, of the resurrection 
of the body, and life everlasting; some one sentence con- 
cerning those eternal joys, may afford you matter for many 
years meditation ; yet it will be a point of wisdom here, to 
have always a stock of matter in our memory, that so when 
we should use it, we may bring forth out of our treasury 
things new and old. If we took things in order, and 
observed some method in respect of the matter, and did 
meditate first on one truth concerning eternity, a*_d then 
another, it would not be amiss. And if any should be barren 
of matter through weakness of memory, they may have 
notes or books of this subject for their furtherance. 

2. When you have fetched from your memory the matter 
of your meditation, your next work is to present it to your 
judgment ; open there the case as fully as thou casst, set 
forth the several ornaments of the crown, the several digni- 
ties belonging to the kingdom, as they are partly laid open 
in the beginning of this book ; let judgment deliberately 
view them over, and take as exact a survey as it can ; then 
put the question, and require a determination. Is there 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 231 

happiness in all this, or not ? Is not here enough to make 
me blessed? Can he want any thing, who fully possesseth 
God? Is there any thing higher for a creature to attain? 
Thus urge thy judgment to pass an upright sentence, and 
compel it to subscribe to the perfection of thy celestial 
happiness, and to leave this sentence as under its hand upon 
record. 

Thus exercise thy judgment in the contemplation of thy 
rest ; thus magnify and advance the Lord in thy heart, till a 
holy admiration hath possessed thy soul. 

3. But the great work, which you may either premise, or 
subjoin to this as you please, is, to exercise thy belief of the 
truth of thy rest ; and that both in respect of the truth of the 
promise, and also the truth of thy own interest and title. 
As unbelief doth cause the languishing of all our graces ; so 
faith would do much to revive and actuate them, if it were 
but revived and actuated itself. 

If we did soundly believe that there is such a glory, that 
within a few days our eyes shall behold it, O what passions 
would it raise within us ! Were we thoroughly persuaded, 
that every word in the Scripture concerning the inconceiv- 
able joys of the kingdom, and the inexpressible blessedness 
of the life to come, were the very word of the living God, 
and should certainly be performed to the smallest tittle, O 
what astonishing apprehensions of that life would it breed! 
How would it actuate every affection ! How would it trans- 
port us with joy, upon the least assurance of our title ! If I 
were as verily persuaded, that I shall shortly see those great 
things of eternity, promised in the word, as I am that this 
is a chair that I sit in, or that this is paper that I write on, 
would it not put another spirit within me? Would it not 
make me forget and despise the world ? and even forget to 
sleep, or to eat? and say, as Christ, "I have meat to eat 
that ye know not of?" O sirs, you little know what a 
thorough belief would work. 

Therefore let this be a chief part of thy business in 
meditation. Read over the promises ; study all confirming 
providences ; call forth thine own experiences ; remember 
the Scriptures already fulfilled both to the church and saints 
in the former ages, and eminently to both in this present 
age, and those that have been fulfilled particularly to thee. 

Set before your faith, the freeness and the universality of 
the promise : consider God's offer, and urge it upon all, that 
he hath excepted from the conditional covenant no man in 
the world, nor will exclude any from heaven, who will accept 
of his offer. Study also the gracious disposition of Christ, 
and his readiness to welcome all that will come : study all 
the evidences of his love, which appeared in his sufferings, 



232 the saint's everlasting rest. 

in his preaching the gospel, in his condescension to sinners, 
in his easy conditions, in his exceeding patience, and in his 
urgent invitations. Do not all these discover his readiness 
to save ? Did he ever manifest himself unwilling? Remem- 
ber also his faithfulness to perform his engagements. Study 
also the evidences of his love in thyself. Look over the 
works of his grace in thy soul : if thou dost not find the 
degree w T hich thou desirest, yet deny not that degree which 
thou flndest. Remember what discoveries of thy state 
thou hast made formerly in the work of self examination. 
Remember all the former testimonies of the Spirit ; and all 
the sweet feelings of the favour of God ; and all the prayers 
that he hath heard and granted ; and all the preservations 
and deliverances ; and all the progress of his Spirit, in his 
workings on thy soul, and the disposals of Providence, con- 
ducing to thy good ; and vouchsafing of means, the directing 
of thee to them, the directing of ministers to meet with thy 
state, the restraint of those sins that thy nature was most 
prone to. Lay these all together, and then think with thy- 
self, Whether all these do not testify the good will of the 
Lord concerning thy salvation ? And whether thou mayest 
not conclude with Samson's mother, when her husband 
thought they should surely die, " If the Lord were pleased 
to kill us, he would not have received an offering at our 
hands, neither would he have showed us all these things ; 
nor would, as at this time, have told us such things as these," 
Judges xiii, 22, 23 i 

2. When the meditation hath thus proceeded about the 
truth of thy happiness, the next part of the work is to 
meditate of its goodness ; that when the judgment hath 
determined, and faith hath apprehended, it may then pass 
on to raise the affections. 

1. The first affection to be acted is love; the object of it 
is goodness : here then is the reviving part of thy work : go 
to thy memory, thy judgment, and thy faith, and from them 
produce the excellencies of thy rest ; take out a copy of the 
record of the Spirit in Scripture, and another of the sentence 
registered in thy spirit, whereby the transcendent glory of 
the saints is declared ; present these to thy affection of love ; 
open to it the cabinet that contains the pearl ; show it the 
promise, and that which it assureth ; thou needest not look 
on heaven through a multiplying glass ; open but one case- 
ment, that love may look in ; give it but a glimpse of the 
back parts of God, and thou wilt find thyself presently in 
another world : do but speak out, and love can hear ; do 
but reveal these things, and love can see ; it is the brutish 
love of the world that is blind; Divine love is exceeding 
quick sighted. Let thy faith, as it were, take thy heart by 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 233 

the hand, and show it the sumptuous buildings of thy eternal 
habitation, and the glorious ornaments of thy Father's house; 
show it those mansions which Christ is preparing, and dis- 
play before it the honours of the kingdom ; let faith lead thy 
heart into the presence of God, and draw as near as possibly 
thou canst, and say to it, " Behold, the Ancient of Days, the 
Lord Jehovah, whose name is I AM ;" this is he who made 
the worlds with his word ; this is the cause of all causes, the 
spring of action, the fountain of life, the first principle of the 
creatures' motions ; who upholds the earth, who rnleth the 
nations, who disposeth of events, and subdueth his foes; 
who governeth the depths of the great waters, and boundeth 
the rage of her swelling waves; who ruleth the winds, and 
moveth the orbs, and causeth the sun to run its race, and the 
several planets to know their courses ; this is he that loved 
thee from everlasting, that formed thee in the womb, and 
gave thee this soul; who brought thee forth, and showed 
thee the light, and ranked thee with the chief of his earthly 
creatures ; who endued thee with thy understanding, and 
beautified thee with his gifts ; who maintaineth thee with 
life, and health, and comforts ; who gave thee thy prefer- 
ments, and dignified thee with thy honours, and differenced 
thee from the most miserable and vilest of men. Here, O 
here is an object worthy thy love ; here thou mayest be sure 
thou canst not love too much ; this is the Lord that hath 
blessed thee with his benefits, that hath spread thy table in 
the sight of thine enemies, and caused thy cup to overflow; 
this is he that angels and saints praise, and the host of heaven 
must magnify for ever. 

Thus do thou expatiate in the praises of God, and open 
his excellencies to thine own heart, till thou feel the life 
begin to stir, and the fire in thy breast begin to kindle : as 
gazing upon the dusty beauty of flesh doth kindle the fire 
of carnal love ; so this gazing on the glory and goodness of 
the Lord will kindle spiritual love. What though thy heart 
be rock and flint, this often striking may bring forth the fire ; 
but if yet thou feelest not thy love to work, lead thy heart 
further, and show it yet more ; show it the Son of the living 
God, whose name is " Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty 
God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace ;" show it 
the King of saints on the throne of his glory, " who is, and 
was, and is to come ; who liveth and was dead, and behold, 
he lives for evermore ; who hath made thy peace by the blood 
of his cross, and hath prepared thee, with himself, a habita- 
tion of peace ;" his office is to be the great peace maker ; his 
kingdom is a kingdom of peace ; his gospel is the tidings of 
peace; his voice to thee now is the voice of peace; draw 
near and behold him; dost thou not hear his voice? II« 

20* 



234 the saint's everlasting rest. 

that called Thomas to come near and to see the print of the 
nails, and to put his finger into his wounds, he it is that calls 
to thee, Come near and view the Lord thy Saviour, and be 
not faithless, but believing ; " Peace be unto thee, fear not, 
it is I ;" he that calleth, Behold me, behold me, to a rebel- 
lious people that called not on his name, doth call out to 
thee, a believer, to behold him ; he that calls to them who 
pass by, to behold his sorrow in the day of his humiliation, 
doth call now to thee, to behold his glory in the day of his 
exaltation. Look well upon him : dost thou not know him ? 
Why, it is he that brought thee up from the pit of hell ; it 
is he that reversed the sentence of thy damnation ; that bore 
the curse which thou shouldst have borne, and restored to 
thee the blessing that thou hadst forfeited, and purchased 
the advancement which thou must inherit for ever; and 
yet dost thou not know him ? W^y, his hands were pierced, 
his head was pierced, his sides were pierced, his heart was 
pierced, with the sting of thy sins, that by these marks thou 
mayest always know him. Dost thou not remember when 
he found thee lying in thy blood, and took pity on thee, 
and dressed thy wounds, and brought thee home, and said 
unto thee, Live? Hast thou forgotten since he wounded 
himself to cure thy wounds, and let out his own blood to 
stop thy bleeding ? Is not the passage to his heart yet stand- 
ing open ? If thou know him not by the face, the voice, the 
hands ; if thou know him not by the tears and bloody sweat, 
yet look nearer* thou mayest know him by the heart ; that 
broken-healed heart is his, that dead-revived heart is his, 
that pitying, melting heart is his ; doubtless it can be none 
but his. Love and compassion are its certain signatures; 
this is he, even this is he, who would rather die than thou 
shouldst die ; who chose thy life before his own ; who pleads 
his blood before his Father, and makes continual intercession 
for thee. If he had not suffered, O ! what hadst thou suffered? 
What hadst thou been, if he had not redeemed thee ? Whi- 
ther hadst thou gone, if he had not recalled thee ? There 
was but one step between thee and hell, when he stept in and 
bore the stroke ; he slew the bear, and rescued the prey ; he 
delivered thy soul from the roaring lion ; and is not here fuel 
enough for love to feed on? Doth not this loadstone snatch 
thy heart, and almost draw it forth from thy breast ? Canst 
thou read the history of love any further at once ? Doth not 
thy throbbing heart here stop to ease itself; and dost thou 
not, as Joseph, seek for a place to weep in ? Or do not the 
tears of thy love bedew these lines ? Go then, for the field 
of love is large, it will yield thee fresh contents for ever, and 
be thine eternal work to behold and love : thou needest not 
then want work for thy present meditation. 



THE SAINT S EVERLASTING REST. 235 

Hast thou forgotten the time when thou wast weeping, 
and he wiped the tears from thine eyes? when thou wast 
bleeding, and he wiped the blood from thy soul ? when 
pricking cares and fears did grieve thee, and he did refresh 
thee, and draw out the thorns ? Hast thou forgotten when 
thy folly wounded thy soul, and the venomous guilt seized 
upon thy heart ? when he sucked forth the mortal poison 
from thy soul, though therewith he drew it into his own. 

I remember it is written of good Melancthon, that when 
his child was removed from him, it pierced his heart to 
remember how he once sat weeping, with the infant on his 
knee, and how lovingly it wiped the tears from the father's 
eyes : how then should it pierce thy heart to think how 
lovingly Christ hath wiped away thine ! O how oft hath he 
found thee sitting weeping, like Hagar. while thou gavest 
up thy state, thy friends, thy life, yea, thy soul, for lost ; and 
he opened to thee a well of consolation, and opened thine 
eyes also that thou mayest see it ? How oft hath he found 
thee in the posture x)f Elias, sitting under the tree forlorn 
and solitary, and desiring rather to die than to live ; and he 
hath spread thee a table from heaven, and sent thee away 
refreshed and encouraged? How oft hath he found thee, as 
the servant of Elias, crying out, " Alas ! what shall we do, 
a host doth compass the city ?" and he hath opened thine 
eyes to see more for thee than against thee, both in regard 
of the enemies of thy soul and thy body ? How oft hath he 
found thee in such a passion, as Jonas, in thy peevish frenzy, 
weary of thy life ; and he hath not answered passion with 
passion, though he might have done well to be angry, but 
hath mildly reasoned thee out of thy madness, and said, 
" Dost thou well to be angry," or to repine against me? 
How oft hath he set thee on watching and praying, or 
repenting and believing, and when he hath returned, hath 
found thee fast asleep? and yet he hath not taken thee at 
the worst, but instead of an angry aggravation of thy fault, 
he hath covered it over with the mantle of love, and pre- 
vented thy over-much sorrow with a gentle excuse, " iha* 
spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." He might have 
done by thee, as Epaminondas by his soldier, who, finding 
him asleep upon the watch, run him through with his sword, 
and said, " Dead I found thee, and dead I leave thee i" but 
he rather chose to awake thee more gently, that his tender- 
ness might admonish thee, and keep thee watching. How 
oft hath he been traduced in his cause, or name, and thou 
hast, like Peter, denied him (at least by thy silence) whilst 
he hath stood in sight ? Yet all the revenge he hath taken, 
hath been a heart-melting look, and a silent remembering 
thee of thy fault by bis countenance. How oft hath con- 



236 the saint's everlasting rest. 

science haled thee before him, as the Pharisees did the 
adulterous woman ; and laid most heinous crimes to thy 
charge ? And when thou hast expected to hear the sentence 
of death, he hath shamed away the accusers, and put them 
to silence, and said to thee, " Neither do I condemn thee ; 
go thy way, and sin no more." 

And art thou not yet transported with love? Can thy 
heart be cold, when thou thinkest of this, or can it hold 
when thou rememberest those boundless compassions ? 
Remernberest thou not the time when he met thee in thy 
duties; when he smiled upon thee, and spake comfortably 
to thee? when thou didst " sit under his shadow with great 
delight, and when his fruit was sweet to thy taste?" when 
"he brought thee to his banqueting house, and his banner 
over thee was love?" when " his left hand was under thy 
head, and with his right hand he did embrace thee ?" And 
dost thou not yet cry out, " Stay me, comfort me, for I am 
sick of love ?" Thus I would have thee deal with thy heart ; 
thus hold forth the goodness of Christ to thy affections ; 
plead thus the case with thy frozen soul, till thou say as 
David in another case, " My heart was hot within me." 

If these arguments will not rouse up thy love, thou hast 
more of this nature at hand : thou hast all Christ's personal 
excellencies to study ; thou hast all his particular mercies 
to thyself; thou hast all his sweet and near relations to 
thee ; and thou hast the happiness of thy perpetual abode 
with him hereafter. All these offer themselves to thy 
meditation, with all their several branches. Only follow 
them close to thy heart, ply the work, and let it not cool : 
deal with thy heart, as Christ did with Peter when he asked 
thrice over, " Lovest thou me?" till he was grieved, and 
answered, " Lord, thou knowest that I love thee." So say 
to thy heart, Lovest thou the Lord ? and ask it the second 
time, and urge it the third time, Lovest thou the Lord? till 
thou grieve it, and shame it out of its stupidity, and it can 
truly say, Thou knowest that I love him. 

2. The next affection to be excited is desire. The object 
of it is goodness not yet attained. This being so necessary 
an attendant of love, and being excited much by the same 
considerations, I suppose you need the less direction, and 
therefore I shall touch but briefly on this ; if love be hot, 
desire will not be cold. 

When thou hast thus viewed the goodness of the Lord, 
and considered the pleasures that are at his right hand, then 
proceed on thy meditation thus : think with thyself, Where 
nave I been ? what have I seen ? O the incomprehensible, 
astonishing glory ! O the rare transcendent beauty ! O 
blessed souls that now enjoy it ! that see a thousand times 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 237 

more clearly what I have seen but darkly at this distance, 
and scarce discern through the interposing clouds ! What 
a difference is there betwixt my state and theirs ! I am 
sighing, and they are singing: I am sinning, and they are 
pleasing God : I have an ulcerated soul, like the loathsome 
bodies of Job and Lazarus, but they are perfect, and without 
blemish : I am here entangled in the love of the world, when 
they are taken up with the love of God : I live indeed amongst 
the means of grace, and I possess the fellowship of my fellow 
believers ; but I have none of their immediate views of God, 
none of that fellowship that they possess : they have none of 
my cares and fears ; they weep not in secret ; they languish 
not in sorrows ; all tears are wiped away from their eyes. 

what a feast hath my faith beheld, and what a famine is 
yet in my spirit ! I have seen a glimpse of the court of God ; 
but, alas, I stand but as a beggar at the doors, when the 
souls of my companions are admitted in. O blessed souls' 

1 may not, I dare not, envy your happiness ; I rather rejoice 
in my brethren's prosperity, and am glad to think of the 
day when I shall be admitted into your fellowship. But O 
that I were so happy as to be in your place ; not to displace 
you, but to rest there with you. Why must I stay and 
groan, and weep, and wait ? My Lord is gone, he hath left 
this earth, and is entered into his glory: my brethren are 
gone, my friends are there, my house, my hope, my all, is 
there : and must I stay behind to sojourn here? What pre- 
cious saints have left this earth ! If the saints were all here, 
if Christ were here, then it were no grief for me to stay ; but 
when my soul is so far distant from my God, wonder not if 
I now complain ; an ignorant Micah will do so for his idol, 
and shall not my soul do so for God? And yet if I had no 
hope of enjoying, I would go and hide myself in the deserts, 
and spend my days in fruitless wishes ; but seeing it is the 
promised land, the state I must be advanced to myself, and 
my soul draws near, and is almost at it, I will live and long; 
I will look and desire ; I will breathe out, How long, Lord, 
how long ! How long, Lord, holy and true, wilt thou suffer 
this soul to pant and groan ! and wilt not open and let him 
in, who waits and longs to be with thee ! 

Thus, reader, let thy thoughts aspire : thus whet the 
desires of thy soul by meditation ; till thy soul long (as 
David's for the waters of Bethlehem) and say, " O that one 
would give me to drink of the wells of salvation !" and till 
thou canst say as he, " I have longed for thy salvation, O 
Lord !" 

3. The next affection to be acted, is hope. This is of 
singular use to the soul. It helpeth exceedingly to support 
it in sufferings; it encourageth it to adventure upon the 



238 the saint's everlasting rest. 

greatest difficulties ; it firmly establisheth it in the most 
shaking trials; and it mightily enlivens ihe soul in duties. 

Let faith then show thee the truth of the promise, and 
judgment the goodness of the thing promised ; and what 
then is wanting for the raising thy hope? Show thy sou] 
from the word, and from the mercies, and from the nature 
of God, what possibility, yea, what probability, yea, what 
certainty, thou hast of possessing the crown. Think thus, 
and reason thus with thy own heart : why should I not 
confidently and comfortably hope, when my soul is in the 
hands of so compassionate a Saviour, and when the kingdom 
is at the disposal of so bounteous a God? Did he ever 
manifest any backwardness to my good, or discover the 
least inclination to my ruin ? Hath he not sworn to the 
contrary to me in his word, that he delights not in the death 
of him that dieth, but rather that he should repent and live? 
Have not all his dealings with me witnessed the same ? Did 
he not mind me of my danger, when I never feared it ? And 
why was this, if he would not have me to escape it? Did 
he not mind me of my happiness, when I had no thoughts 
of it? And why was this, but that he would have me to 
enjoy it ? I have been ashamed of my hope in the arm of 
flesh, but hope in the promise of God maketh not ashamed : 
I will say therefore in my greatest sufferings, " The Lord is 
my portion, therefore will I hope in him. The Lord is good 
to them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him ; it 
is good that I both hopes and quietly wait, for the salvation 
of the Lord. The Lord will not cast off for ever ; but though 
he cause grief, yet will he have compassion, according to the 
multitude of his mercies." Though I languish and die, yet 
will I hope; for he hath said, "The righteous hath hope in 
his death." Though I must lie down in dust and darkness, 
yet there "my flesh shall rest in hope." And when my 
flesh hath nothing in which it may rejoice, yet will I keep 
" the rejoicing of hope firm to the end." 

4. The last affection to be acted, is joy. This is the end 
of all the rest ; love, desire, hope, tend to the raising of our 
joy. And is it nothing to have a deed of gift from God ? 
Are his infallible promises no ground of joy ? Is it nothing 
to live in daily expectation of entering into the kingdom ? 
Is not my assurance of being glorified one day, a sufficient 
ground for inexpressible joy ? Is it no delight to the heir of a 
kingdom, to think of what he must hereafter possess, though 
at present he little differ from a servant? Am I not com- 
manded " to rejoice in hope of the glory of God ?" 

Here take thy heart once again, as it were, by the hand , 
bring it to the top of the highest mount; show it the " king- 
dom of Christ, and the glory of it ;" say to it, " All this will 



THE SAINT S EVERLASTING REST. 339 

thy Lord bestow upon thee, who hast believed in him, and 
been a worshipper of him. It is the Father's good pleasure 
to give thee this kingdom." Seest thou this astonishing 
glory above thee? Why all this is thy own inheritance. 
This crown is thine, these pleasures are thine, because thou 
art Christ's, and Christ is thine; when thou wert married 
to him, thou hadst all this with him. 

Thus take thy heart into the land of promise ; show it the 
pleasant hills and fruitful valleys ; show it the clusters of 
grapes which thou hast gathered, and by those convince it 
that it is a blessed land, flowing with better than milk and 
honey: enter the gates of the holy city, walk' through the 
streets of the New Jerusalem, walk about Sion, go round 
about her, tell the towers thereof, mark well her bulwarks, 
consider her palaces, that thou mayest tell it to thy soul : 
" The foundation is garnished with precious stones ; the 
twelve gates are twelve pearls; the street of the city is pure 
gold, as it were transparent glass ; there is no temple in it. for 
the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. 
It hath no need cf sun or moon to shine in it, for the glory 
of God doth lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof, 
and the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the 
light of it." This is thy rest, O my soul, and this must be 
the place of thy everlasting habitation : " Let all the sons of 
Sion then rejoice, and the daughters of Jerusalem be glad: 
for great is the Lord, and greatly is he praised in the city of 
our God : beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth 
is mount Sion ; God is known in her palaces for a refuge." 

Yet proceed : " The soul," saith Austin, " that loves, 
ascends frequently, and runs familiarly through the streets 
of the heavenly Jerusalem, visiting the patriarchs and pro- 
phets, saluting the apostles, and admiring the armies of 
martyrs and confessors." So do thou lead on thy heart as 
from street to street, bringing it into the palace of the great 
King; lead it, as it were, from chamber to chamber; say to 
it, Here must I lodge, here must I live, here must I love, 
and be loved. I must shortly be one of this heavenly choir, 
I shall then be better skilled in the music ; among this blessed 
company must I take my place ; my tears will then be wiped 
away ; there it is that trouble and lamentation cease, and 
the voice of sorrow is not heard. O when I look upon this 
glorious place, what a dungeon methinks is earth ! O what 
a difference betwixt a man feeble, pained, groaning, dying, 
rotting in the grave, and one of these triumphant, blessed, 
shining saints! Here "shall I drink then of the river of 
pleasure, the streams whereof make glad the city of God. 
For the Lord will create a new earth, and the former shall 
not be remembered ; we shall be glad and rejoice for ever 



240 the saint's everlasting rest. 

in that which he creates ; for he will create Jerusalem a 
rejoicing, and her people a joy ; and he will rejoice in 
Jerusalem, and joy in his people, and the voice of weeping 
shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying ; 
there shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old 
man, that hath not filled his days. 55 

Why do I not then arise from the dnst, and lay aside my 
sad complaints, and cease my mourning? Why do I not 
trample down vain delights, and feed upon the foreseen 
delights of glory? Why is not my life a continual joy; 
and the favour of heaven perpetually upon my spirit? 

I do not place any flat necessity in thy acting all the fore- 
mentioned affections in this order at one time, or in one 
duty : perhaps thou mayest sometime feel some one of thy 
affections more flat than the rest, and so to have more need 
of exciting; or thou mayest find one stirring more than the 
rest, and so think it more seasonable to help it forward ; or 
if thy time be short, thou mayest work upon one affection 
one day, and upon another the next, as thou findest cause ; 
all this I leave to thy own prudence. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

SOME ADVANTAGES AND HELPS FOR RAISING THE SOUL BY 
MEDITATION. 

The next part of this directory, is to show you what 
advantages you should take, and what helps you should 
use, to make your meditations of heaven more quickening, 
and to make you taste the sweetness that is therein. For 
this is the main work, that you may not stick in a bare 
thinking, but may have the lively sense of all upon your 
hearts : and this you will find to be the most difficult part 
of the work. It is easier to think of heaven a whole day, 
than to be lively and affectionate in those thoughts one 
quarter of an hour. Therefore let us yet a little further 
consider what may be done, to make your thoughts of 
heaven piercing, affecting thoughts. 

It will be a point of spiritual prudence, and a singular 
help to the furthering of faith, to call in our senses to its 
assistance : if we can make us friends of those usual enemies, 
and make them instruments of raising us to God, which are 
the usual means of drawing us from God, we shall perform 
a very excellent work. Sure it is both possible and lawful 
to do something in this kind ; for God would not have given 
us either senses themselves, or their usual objects, if they 
might not have been serviceable to his own praise, and helps 
to raise us to the apprehension of higher things : and it is 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 241 

very considerable, how the Holy Ghost doth condescend, 
in the phrase of Scripture, in bringing things down to the 
reach of sense ; how he sets forth the excellencies of spiritual 
things in words that are borrowed from the objects of sense. 
Doubtless, if such expressions had not been best, and to us 
necessary, the Holy Ghost would not have so frequently 
used them : he that will speak to man's understanding, must 
speak in man's language, and speak that which he is capable 
to conceive. 

1. Go to then; when thou settest thyself to meditate on 
the joys above, think on them boldly as Scripture hath 
expressed them ; bring down thy conceivings to the reach 
of sense. Excellency, without familiarity, doth more amaze 
than delight us; but love and joy are promoted by familiar 
acquaintance : when we go about to think of God and glory 
without these spectacles, we are lost, and have nothing to 
fix our thoughts upon ; we set God and heaven so far from 
ns, that our thoughts are strange, and we look at them as 
things beyond our reach, and are ready to say, that which 
is above is nothing to us : to conceive no more of God and 
glory, but that we cannot conceive them ; and to apprehend 
no more, but that they are past apprehension, will produce 
no more love but this, to acknowledge that they are so far 
above us that we cannot love them ; and no more joy but 
this, that they are above our rejoicing. And therefore put 
Christ no further from you, than he hath put himself, lest 
the Divine nature be again inaccessible. Think of Christ 
as in our own nature glorified ; think of our fellow saints as 
men there perfected ; think of the city and state as the Spirit 
hath expressed it, only with caution. Suppose thou wert 
now beholding this city of God, and that thou hadst been a 
companion with John in his survey of its glory, and hadst 
seen the thrones, the majesty, the heavenly hos% the shining 
splendour, which he saw : dr^w as strong suppositions as 
may be from thy sense for the helping of thy affections : it 
is lawful to suppose we did see for the present, that which 
God hath in prophesies revealed, and which we must really 
see in more unspeakable brightness before long. Suppose 
therefore with thycelf thou hadst been that apostle's fellow 
traveller into the celestial kingdom, and that thou hadst 
seen all the saints in their white robes, with palms in their 
hands : suppose thou hadst heard those songs of Moses, 
and of the Lamb; or didst even now hear them praising 
and glorifying the living God : if thou hadst seen these 
things indeed, in what a rapture wouldst thou have been ! 
And the more seriously thou puttest this /supposition to 
thyself, the more will the meditation elevate thy heart. 

1 would not have thee, as the Papists, draw them in pic- 
21 



242 the saint's everlasting rest. 

tures, nor use such ways to represent them. This, as it is a 
course forbidden by God, so it would but seduce and draw 
down thy heart : but get the liveliest picture of them in thy 
mind that possibly thou canst ; meditate on them, as if thou 
wert all the while beholding them, and as if thou wert even 
hearing the hallelujahs ; till thou canst say, Methinks I see a 
glimpse of the glory ! Methinks I hear the shouts of joy and 
praise! Methinks I even stand by Abraham and m David, 
Peter and Paul, and more of these triumphing souls ! Me- 
thinks I see the Son of God appearing in the clouds, and 
the world standing at his bar to receive their doom ! Me- 
thinks I hear him say, " Come, ye blessed of my Father ;" 
and see "them go rejoicing into the joy of their Lord!" 
My very dreams of these things have deeply affected me ; 
and should not these just suppositions affect me much more? 
What if I had seen with Paul those unutterable things ; 
should I not have been exalted (and that perhaps above 
measure) as well as he? What if I had stood in the room 
of Stephen, and seen heaven opened, and Christ sitting at 
the right hand of God ? Surely that one sight was worth 
the suffering his storm of stones. O that I might but see 
what he did see, though I also suffered what he did suffer! 
What if I had seen such a sight as Micaiah saw? u The 
Lord sitting upon his throne, and all the hosts of heaven 
standing on his right hand and on his left." Why these 
men of God did see such things ; and I shall shortly see far 
more than ever they saw, till they were loosed from the 
flesh, as I must be. And thus you see how the familiar 
conceiving of the state of blessedness, as the Spirit hath in 
a condescending language expressed it, and our strong sup- 
positions raised from our bodily senses, will further our 
affections in this heavenly work. 

2. There is yet another way by which we may make our 
senses serviceable to us, and that is, by comparing the objects 
of sense with the objects of faith ; and so forcing sense to 
afford us that medium, from whence we may conclude the 
transcendent worth of glory, by arguing from sensitive 
delights as from the less to the greater. And here, for your 
further assistance, I shall furnish you with some of these 
comparative arguments. 

And 1. You must strongly argue with your hearts, from 
the corrupt delights of sensual men. Think then with 
yourselves, when you would be sensible of the joys above : 
is it such a delight to a sinner to do wickedly ? And will it 
not be delightful indeed to live with God ? Hath a drunkard 
such delight in his cups and companions, that the very 
fears of damnation will not make him forsake them ? Sure 
then there are high delights with God ! If the way to hell 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 243 

can afford such pleasure, what are the pleasures of the saints 
in heaven ? 

2. Compare also the delights above, with the lawful 
delights of sense. Think with thyself, How sweet is food 
to my taste when I am hungry ! Especially, as Isaac said, 
" that which my soul loveth." What delight hath the taste 
in some pleasant fruits, in some well relished meats ! O 
what delight then must my soul have in feeding upon Christ 
the living bread ! and in eating with him at his table in his 
kingdom ! How pleasant is drink in the extremity of thirst ! 
Then how delightful will it be to my soul " to drink of that 
fountain of living water, which whoso drinks shall thirst no 
more !" 

3. Compare also the delights above with the delights that 
are found in natural knowledge. This is far beyond the 
delights of sense, and the delights of heaven are further 
beyond it. Think then, can an Archimedes be so taken up 
with his mathematical invention, that the threats^ of death 
cannot take him off? Should I not much more oe'taken up 
with the delights of glory, and die with these contemplations 
fresh upon my soul ; especially when my death will perfect 
my delights ? But those of Archimedes die with him. What 
a pleasure is it to dive into the secrets of nature ! to find out 
the mysteries of arts and sciences ! If we make but any new 
discovery in one of these, what singular pleasure do we find 
therein! Think then what high delights there are in the 
knowledge of God and Christ ! If the face of human learning 
be so beautiful, that sensual pleasures are to it but base and 
brutish ; how beautiful then is the face of God ! When we 
light on some choice and learned book, how are we taken 
with it! we could read and study it day and night; we can 
leave meat, and drink, and sleep, to read it ; what delights 
then are there at God's right hand, where we shall know in 
a moment more than any mortal can know ! 

4. Compare also the delights above, with the delights of 
morality, and of the natural affections. What delight had 
many sober Heathens in the practice of moral duties ; so 
that they took him only for an honest man who did well 
through the love of virtue, and not only for fear of punish- 
ment : yea, so highly did they value virtue, that they thought 
the chief happiness of man consisted in it. Think then what 
excellency there will be in that rare perfection which we 
shall be raised to in heaven ; and in that uncreated perfection 
of God which we shall behold ! What sweetness is there in 
the exercise of natural love : whether to children, to parents, 
to yoke fellows, or to friends ! The delight which special, 
faithful friends find in loving and enjoying one another, is 
a most pleasing, sweet delight : even Christ himself, as it 



244 the saint's everlasting rest. 

seemeth, had some of this kind oflove, for he had one dis- 
ciple whom he especially loved. Think then, if the delights 
of cordial friendship be so great, what delights shall we have 
in the friendship of the Most High ? and in our mutual amity 
with Jesus Christ? and in the dearest love and comfort with 
the saints ? Surely this will be a closer and stricter friendship 
than ever was betwixt any friends on earth ; and these will 
be more lovely and desirable friends than any that ever the 
sun beheld : and both our affections to our Father, and our 
Saviour, but especially his affection to us, will be such as 
here we never knew ; as spirits are so far more powerful 
than flesn, that one angel can destroy a host, so also are 
their affections more strong and powerful : we shall then 
love a thousand times more strongly and sweetly than now 
we can ; and as all the attributes and works of God are 
incomprehensible, so are the attributes and 'work of love : 
he will love us many thousand times more than we, even at 
the perfectest, are able to love him : what joy then will 
there be in this mutual love? 

5. Compare also the excellencies of heaven with those 
glorious works of the creation which our eyes now behold. 
What a deal of wisdom, and power, and goodness, appeareth 
in and through them to a wise observer! What a deal of 
the majesty of the great Creator doth shine in the face of 
this fabric of the world ! Surely his works are great and 
admirable, sought out of them that have pleasure therein. 
This makes the study of natural philosophy so pleasant, 
because the works of God are so excellent : what rare work- 
manship is in the body of a man ! yea, in the body of every 
beast! which makes the anatomical studies so delightful. 
What excellency in every plant we see ! in the beauty of 
flowers ! in the nature, diversity, and use of herbs ! in fruits, 
in roots, in minerals, and what not! but especially, if we 
look to the greater work : if we consider the whole body of 
this earth, and its creatures, and inhabitants; the ocean of 
waters, with its motions and dimensions, the variation of 
the seasons, and of the face of the earth ; the intercourse 01 
spring and fall, of summer and winter : what wonderful 
excellency do these contain ! Why, then think if these 
things, which are but servants to sinful men, are yet so full 
of mysterious worth ; what is that place where God himself 
doth dwell, prepared for the just who are perfected with 
Christ ! . 

When thou walkest forth in the evening, look upon the 
stars, in what number they bespangle the firmament ; if in 
the day time, look up to the glorious sun ; view the wide 
expanded heavens, and say to thyself, What glory is in the 
least of yonder stars ! What a vast, what a resplendent 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 245 

body hath yonder moon, and every planet ! What an incon- 
ceivable glory hath the sun! Why, all this is nothing to 
the glory of heaven. Yonder sun must there be laid aside 
as useless ; for it would not be seen for the brightness of 
God. I shall live above all yonder glory; yonder sun is 
but darkness to the lustre of my Father's house ; I shall be 
as glorious as that sun myself. 

So think of the rest of the creatures. This whole earth is 
but my Father's footstool ; this thunder is nothing to his 
dreadful voice; these winds are nothing to the breath of his 
mouth ; so much wisdom and power as appear in these ; so 
much and far more greatness, and goodness, and delight, 
shall I enjoy in the actual fruition of God. Surely, if the 
rain which rains, and the sun which shines, on the just and 
unjust, be so wonderful ; the sun then which must shine on 
none but saints and angels, must needs be wonderful and 
ravishing in glory. 

6. Compare the things which thou shalt enjoy above, with 
the excellency of those admirable works of Providence, 
which God doth exercise in the church and in the world. 
What glorious things hath the Lord wrought ! And yet we 
shall see more glorious than these. Would it not be an 
astonishing sight, to see the sea stand as a wall on the right 
hand and on the left, and the people of Israel pass safely 
through, and Pharaoh and his people swallowed up? If 
w r e had seen the rock to gush forth streams, or manna or 
quails rained down from heaven, or the earth open and 
swallow up the wicked ; would not all these have been 
wonderous, glorious sights? But we shall see far greater 
things than these. And as our sights shall be more won- 
derful, so also they shall be more sweet ; there shall be no 
blood or wrath intermingled ; we shall not then cry out as 
David, " Who shall stand before this holy Lord God ? ,? 
Would it not have been an astonishing sight to have seen 
the sun stand still in the firmament? Why, we shall sec 
when there shall be no sun to shine at all ; we shall behold 
for ever a sun of more incomparable brightness. Were it 
not a brave life, if we might still live among wonders and 
miracles ; and all for us, and not against us ? If we could 
have drought or rain at our prayers, as Elias ; or if we could 
call down fire from heaven, to destroy our enemies ; or raise 
the dead to life, as Elisha ; or cure the diseased, and speak 
strange languages, as the apostles ; alas, these are nothing 
to the wonders which we shall see and possess with God, 
and all those wonders of goodness and love! We shall 
possess that pearl and power itself, through whose virtue 
all these works were done ; we shall ourselves be the sub 
jects of more wonderful mercies than any of these. Jonas 

21* 



246 the saint's everlasting rest. 

was raised but from a three day's burial, from the belly of 
the whale in the deep ocean ; but we shall be raised from 
many years' rottenness and dust, and that dust exalted to a 
sunlike glory, and that glory perpetuated to all eternity. 
What sayest thou ? Is not this the greatest of miracles or 
wonders ? Surely, if we observe but common providences, 
the motions of the sun, the tides of the sea, the standing of 
the earth, the warming it, the watering it with rain as a 
garden, the keeping in order a wicked confused world, with 
multitudes of the like, they are all very admirable ; but then 
to think of the Sion of God, of the vision of the Divine 
Majesty, of the comely order of the heavenly host, what an 
admirable sight must that needs be ! O what rare and mighty 
works have we seen ! what clear discoveries of an Almighty 
arm ! what magnifying of weakness ! what casting down 
of strength ! what wonders wrought by most improbable 
means ! what turning of tears and fears into safety and joy ! 
such hearing of earnest prayers, as if God could have denied 
us nothing! All these are wonderful works: but what are 
these to our full deliverance ! to our final conquest I to our 
eternal triumph ! and to that great day of great things ! 

7. Compare also the mercies which thou shalt have above, 
with those particular providences which thou hast enjoyed 
thyself. If thou be a Christian indeed, thou hast, if not in 
thy book, yet certainly in thy heart, many favours upon 
record ; the very remembrance and rehearsal of them is 
sweet; how much more sweet was the actual enjoyment! 
But all these are nothing to the mercies which are above. 
Look over the excellent mercies of thy youth, the mercies 
of thy riper years, the mercies of thy prosperity and of thy 
adversity, the mercies of thy several places and relations : 
are they not excellent and innumerable? Canst not thou 
think on the several places thou hast lived in, and remember 
tha' they have each had their several mercies ? The mercies 
of such "a place and such a place, and all of them very rich 
and engaging mercies ? O how sweet was it to thee, when 
God resolved thy last doubts! when he overcame and silenced 
thy fears and unbelief! when he prevented the inconveniences 
of thy life, which thy own counsel would have cast thee into ! 
when he eased thy pains, when he healed thy sickness, and 
raised thee up as from the very grave ! Were not all these 
precious mercies? Alas, these are but small things for thee 
in the eyes of God; he intendeth thee far greater things 
than these, even such as these are scarce a taste of. It was 
a choice mercy that God hath so notably answered thy 
prayers, and that thou hast been so oft and evidently a 
prevailer with him : but O think, are all these so sweet and 
precious, that my life would have been a perpetual misery 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 247 

without them ! Hath his providence lifted me so high on 
earth, and his merciful kindness made me great ? How 
sweet then will the glory of his presence be! And how 
high will his eternal love exalt me! And how great shall I 
be made in communion with his greatness! If my pilgrimage 
and warfare have such mercies, what shall I find in my home, 
and in my triumph? If I have had so much in this strange 
country, at such a distance from him ; what shall I have in 
heaven is his immediate presence? 

8. Compare the joy which thou shalt have in heaven, with 
that which the saints of God have found in the way to it, 
and in the foretastes of it : when thou seest a heavenly man 
rejoice, think what it is that so affects him. It is the pro- 
perty of fools to rejoice in toys; but the people of God are 
wiser, they know what it is that makes them glad. When 
did God reveal himself to any of his saints, but the joy of 
their hearts was answerable to the revelation ? When Moses 
had been talking with God in the mount, it made his visage 
so shining and glorious, that the people could not endure to 
behold it: but he was fain to put a veil upon it: no wonder 
then if the face of God must be veiled, till we come to that 
state where we shall be capable of beholding him, when 
" the veil shall be taken away, and we all beholding him 
w T ith open face, shall be changed into the same image from 
glory to glory." Alas, what are the back parts which 
Moses saw from the clefts of the rock, to that open face 
which we shall behold hereafter! What is that revelation 
to John in Patmos, to this revelation which we shall have 
in heaven ! How short doth Paul's vision come of the saints' 
vision above with God ! How small a part of the glory 
which we must see, was that which so transported Peter in 
the mount! I confess these were all extraordinary foretastes; 
but little to the full, beatifical vision. When David foresaw 
the resurrection of Christ and of himself, how did it make 
him break forth and say, " Therefore my heart was glad, 
and my glory rejoiceth, my flesh also shall rest in hope." 
Think then, if the foresight can raise such ravishing joy, 
what will the actual possession do ? How oft have we read 
and heard of the dying saints, who, when they had scarce 
strength and life to express them, have been as full of joy as 
their hearts could hold ? And when their bodies have been 
under the extremities of their sickness, yea, ready to feel 
the pangs of death, have yet had so much of heaven in their 
spirits, that their joy hath far surpassed their sorrows r And 
if a spark of this fire be so glorious, and that in the midst of 
the sea of adversity, what then is that sun of glory itself? 

9. Compare also the glory of the heavenly kingdom with 
the glory of the church on earth, and of Christ in his state 



248 the saint's everlasting rest. 

of humiliation ; and yon may easily conclude, if Christ, 
standing in the room of sinners, was so wonderful in excel- 
lencies, what is Christ at the Father's right hand ? And if 
the church, under her sins and enemies, hath so much 
beauty, she will have much more at the marriage of the 
Lamb. How wonderful was the Son of God in the form of 
a servant ! When he is born, the heavens must proclaim 
him by miracles ; a new star must appear in the firmament, 
and fetch men from remote parts of the world to worship 
him in a manger ; the angels and heavenly host must declare 
his nativity, and solemnize it with praising and glorifying 
God ; when he sets upon his office, his whole life is a 
wonder ; water turned into wine, thousands fed with five 
loaves and two fishes, the lepers cleansed, the sick healed, 
the lame restored, the blind receive their sight, the dead 
raised : if we had seen all this, should we not have thought 
it wonderful ? The most desperate diseases cured with a 
touch, with a word ; the blind eyes with a little clay and 
spittle ; the devils departing by legions at command ; the 
winds and the sea obeying his word : are not all these 
wonderful ? Think then, how wonderful is his celestial 
glory ! If there be such cutting down of boughs, and 
spreading of garments, and crying, Hosannah, to one that 
comes into Jerusalem riding on an ass ; what will there be 
when he comes with his angels in his glory ? If they that 
hear him preach the gospel of the kingdom, have their 
hearts turned within them, that they turn and say, " Never 
man spake like this man :" then sure they that behold his 
majesty in his kingdom, will say, " There was never glory 
like this glory." If when his enemies come to apprehend 
him, the word of his mouth doth cast them all to the ground ; 
if when he is dying, the earth must tremble, the veil of the 
temple rend, the sun in the firmament hide its face, and the 
dead bodies of the saints arise : O what a day will it be 
when he will once more shake, not the earth only, but the 
heavens also, and remove the things that are shaken ! when 
this sun shall be taken out of the firmament, and be ever- 
lastingly darkened with the brightness of his glory ! when 
the dead must all rise and stand before him ; and " all shall 
acknowledge him to be the Son of God, and every tongue 
confess him to be Lord and King!" If when he riseth 
again, the grave and death have lost their power, and the 
angels of heaven must roll away the stone, and astonish the 
watchmen till they are as dead men, and send the tidings to 
his dejected disciples ; if the bolted doors cannot keep him 
out ; if the sea be as firm ground for him to walk on ; if he 
can ascend to heaven in the sight of his disciples, and send 
the angels to forbid them gazing after him : O what power, 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 249 

and dominion, and glory, then is he now possessed of! and 
must we ever possess with him ! 

Yet think further, are his very servants enabled to do such 
miracles when he is gone from them? Can a few poor 
fishermen and tent makers, cure the lame, and blind, and 
sick ? open prisons, destroy the disobedient, and raise the 
dead ? O then what a world will that be, where every one 
can do greater works than these! It were much to have 
the devils subject to us ; but more to have our names written 
in the book of life. If the very preaching of the gospel be 
accompanied with such power, that it will pierce the heart, 
and discover its secrets, bring down the proud, and make 
the stony sinner tremble ; if it can make men burn their 
books, sell their lands, bring in the price, and lay it down 
at the preacher's feet; if.it can make the spirit of princes 
stoop, and the kings of the earth resign their crowns, and 
do their homage to Jesus Christ ; if it can subdue kingdoms, 
and convert thousands, and turn the world thus upside down; 
if the very mention of the judgment and life to come, can 
make the judge on the bench to tremble ; what then is the 
glory of the kingdom itself? What an absolute dominion 
have Christ and his saints! And if they have this power 
and honour in the day of their abasement, what will they 
have in their full advancement ? 

10. Compare the mercies thou shalt have above, with the 
mercies which Christ hath here bestowed on thy soul ; and 
the glorious change which thou shalt have at last, with the 
gracious change which the Spirit has wrought on thy heart. 
Compare the comforts of thy glorification, with the comforts 
of thy sanctiflcation. There is not the smallest grace in 
the* which is genuine, but is of greater worth than the 
riches of the Indies ; nor a hearty desire and groan after 
Christ, but is more to be valued than the kingdoms of the 
world ; a renewed nature is the very image of God : Scrip- 
ture calleth it, " Christ dwelling in us," and " the Spirit of 
God dwelling in us:" it is a beam from the face of God 
himself; it is the seed of God remaining in us; it is the 
only inherent beauty of the rational soul ; it ennobleth man 
above all nobility ; it fitteth him to understand his Maker's 
pleasure, to do his will, and to receive his glory : think then 
with thyself, if" this grain of mustard seed" be so preuous, 
what is " the tree of life in the midst of the paradise of God ?" 
If a spark of life be so much, how glorious then is the fountain 
and end of this life ! If we are even now said " to be like 
God, and to bear his image, and to be holy as he is holy ;" 
sure we shall then be much liker God, when we are perfectly 
holy, and without blemish. Is the desire of heaven so pre- 
cious a thing! what then is the thing itself? Is love so 



250 the saint's everlasting rest. 

excellent! what then is the beloved? Is our joy in fore- 
seeing and believing so sweet! what will be the joy in the 
full possession ? O the delight that a Christian hath in the 
lively exercise of some of these affections ! What good doth 
it to his very heart, when he can feelingly say, He loves his 
Lord ! Yea, even those troubling passions of sorrow and 
fear, are yet delightful, when they are rightly exercised: 
how glad is a poor Christian when he feeleth his heart melt, 
and when the thoughts of sinful unkindness will dissolve it!. 
Even this sorrow doth yield him matter of joy : O what will 
it then be, when we shall do nothing but know God, and 
love, and rejoice, and praise, and all this in the highest per- 
fection ! What a comfort is it to my doubling soul, when I 
have a little assurance of the sincerity of my graces ! How 
much more will it comfort me, to find that the Spirit hath 
safely conducted me, and left me in the arms of Jesus! 
What a change was it that the Spirit made upon my soul, 
when he first " turned me from darkness to light, and from 
the power of Satan unto God !" To be taken from that 
horrid state of nature, wherein myself and my actions were 
loathsome to God, and the sentence of death was passed 
upon me, and the Almighty took me for his utter enemy.; 
and to be presently numbered among his saints, and called 
his friend, his servant, his son, and the sentence revoked 
which was gone forth ; O what a change was this ! To be 
taken from that state wherein I was born, .and had lived so 
many years, and if I had so died, I had been damned for 
ever ; and to be justified from all these crimes, and freed 
from all these plagues, and put into the title of an heir of 
heaven ; O what an astonishing change was this ! How 
much greater will that glorious change then be ! beyond 
expressing ! beyond conceiving ! How oft, when I have 
thought of this change in my regeneration, have I cried out, 
O blessed day ! and blessed be the Lord that I ever saw it ! 
How then shall I cry out in heaven, O blessed eternity ! and 
blessed be the Lord that brought me to it ! Was the mercy 
of my conversion so exceeding great, that the angels of God 
did rejoice to see it? Sure then the mercy of my salvation 
will be so great, that the same angels will congratulate my 
felicity. This grace is but a spark that is raked up in the 
ashes ; it is covered with flesh from the sight of the world ; 
but my everlasting glory will not " be under a bushel, but 
upon a hill, even upon Sion, the mount of God." 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 251 



CHAPTER IX. 

HOW TO MANAGE AND WATCH OVER THE HEART THROUGH THE 
WHOLE WORK. 

The last part of this directory is, to guide you in managing 
your hearts through this work, and to show you wherein 
you had need to be exceeding watchful. I have showed 
you before, what must be done with your hearts in your 
preparations to the work, and in your setting upon it: I 
shall now show it you, in respect of the time of the per- 
formance. Our chief work will here be, to discover to you 
the danger, and that vail direct you to the remedy. Let 
me therefore acquaint you beforehand, that whenever you 
set upon this heavenly employment, you shall find your 
own hearts your greatest hinderers, and they will prove 
false to you in one or all of these four degrees : First, they 
will hold off, that you will hardly get them to the work ; 
or else they will betray you by their idleness in the work, 
pretending to do it, when they do it not ; or they will inter- 
rupt the work, by their frequent excursions, and turning 
aside to every object ; or they will spoil the work by cutting 
it short, and be gone before you have done any good at it. 
Therefore I forewarn you, as you value the invaluable com- 
fort of this work, faithfully resist these four dangerous evils. 

1. Thou shalt find thy heart as backward to this, as to 
any work in the world. O what excuses it will make 1 what 
evasions it will find out ! and what delays, when it is never 
so much convinced ! Either it will question, whether it be 
a duty or not! or, if it be so to others, yet whether it be so 
to thee ? It will take up any thing like reason to plead 
against it ; or, if thy heart have nothing against the work, 
then it will trifle away the time in delays, and promise this 
day and the next, but still keep off; or lastly, if thou wilt 
not be so baffled with excuses or delays, thy heart will give 
thee a flat denial, and oppose its own unwillingness to thy 
reason ; thou shalt find it draw back with all the strength it 
hath. I speak all this of the heart so far as it is carnal ; for 
so far as it is spiritual, it will judge this work the sweetest 
in the world. 

But take up the authority which God hath given thee, 
command thy heart ; if it rebel, use violence with it ; if thou 
be too weak, call in the Spirit of Christ to thine assistance ; 
he is never backward to so good a work, nor will deny his 
help in so just a cause : God will be ready to help thee, if 
thou be not unwilling to help thyself. Say unto him, " Lord, 
thou gavest my reason the command of my thoughts and 



252 the saint's everlasting rest. 

affections : the authority I have received over them, is from 
thee, and now, behold they refuse to obey thine authority : 
thou commandest me to set them to the work of heavenly 
meditation, but they rebel, and stubbornly refuse the duty ; 
wilt thou not assist me to execute that authority which thou 
hast given me ? O send down thy Spirit and power that I 
may enforce thy commands, and effectually compel them to 
obey thy will." 

And thus doing, thou shalt see thy heart will submit : its 
resistance will be brought under ; and its backwardness will 
be turned to compliance. 

2. When thou hast got thy heart to the work, beware lest 
it delude thee by a loitering formality ; lest it say, I go, and 
go not ; lest it trifle out the time, while it should be effect- 
ually meditating. When thou hast perhaps but an hour's 
time for meditation, the time will be spent before thy heart 
will be serious. This doing of duty, as if we did it not, doth 
undo as many as the flat omission of it. To rub out the 
hour in a bare lazy thinking of heaven, is but to lose that 
hour, and delude thyself. What is to be done in this case? 
Why, do here also as you do by a loitering servant; keep 
thine eye always upon thy heart ; look not so much to the 
time it spendeth in the duty, as to the work that is done : 
you can tell by his work, whether your servant hath been 
painful: ask, what affections have yet been acted? How 
much am I yet got nearer heaven ? Verily many a man's 
heart must be followed as close in this duty of meditation, 
as an ox at the plough, that will go no longer than you are 
calling or scourging; if you cease driving but a moment, 
the heart will stand still. 

I would not have thee of the judgment of those who think 
that while they are so backward, it is better let it alone ; and 
that if mere love will not bring them to the duty, the service 
is worse than the omission : these men understand not, First, 
that this argument would certainly cashier all spiritual 
obedience ; nor do they understand well the corruptness of 
their own natures ; nor that their sinful undisposedness will 
not suspend the commands of God ; nor one sin excuse 
another; especially they little know the way of God to 
excite their affections; and that the love which should 
compel them, must itself be first compelled, in the same 
sense as it is said to compel : love I know is a most precious) 
grace, and should have the chief interest in all our duties; 
but there are means appointed by God to procure this love; 
and shall I not use those means, till I can use them from 
love ? that were to neglect the means till I have the end. 
Must I not seek to procure love, till I have it already? 
There are means also for the increasing of love where it is 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 25S 

begun, and means for exciting it where it lieth dull : and 
must I not use these means till it is increased and excited ? 
Fall upon the work till thou art constrained to love; and 
then love will constrain thee to further duty. 

3. As thy heart will be loitering, so will it be diverting. 
It will be turning aside, like a careless servant, to talk with 
every one that passeth by: when there should be nothing 
in thy mind but the work in hand, it will be thinking of thy 
calling, or of thy afflictions, or of every bird, or tree, or 
place, thou seest, or of any impertinency, rather than of 
heaven. The cure here is the same with that before ; to 
use watchfulness and violence with your own imaginations, 
and as soon as they step out, to chide them in. Drive away 
these birds of prey from thy sacrifice, and strictly keep thy 
heart to the work thou art upon. 

4. Lastly, Be sure also to look to thy heart in this, that 
it cut not off the work before the time, and run not away 
through weariness, before it have leave. Thou shalt find it 
exceeding prone to this. Thou mayest easily perceive it in 
other duties : if in secret thou set thyself to pray, is not thy 
heart urging thee still to cut it short ? Dost thou not fre- 
quently find a motion to have done ? Art thou not ready to 
be up, as soon almost as thou art down on thy knees? So 
it will be also in thy contemplations of heaven ; as fast as 
thou gettest up thy heart, it will be down again ; it will be 
weary of the work ; it will be minding thee of other business 
to be done, and stop thy heavenly walk, before thou art 
well warm. What is to be done in this case also? Why 
the same authority and resolution which brought it to the 
work, and observed it in the work, must hold it to it, till 
the work be done. Stick to the work till thy graces be 
acted, thy affections raised, and thy soul refreshed with the 
delights above ; or if thou canst not obtain these ends at 
once, ply it the closer the next time, and let it not go till 
thou feel the blessing. " Blessed is that servant, whom his 
Lord, when he comes, shall find so doing." 

Thus I have directed you in this work of heavenly con- 
templation, and led you into the path where you may walk 
with God. But because I would bring it down to the 
capacity of the meanest, and help their memories who are 
arJt to let slip the former particulars, I shall here contract 
the whole, and lay it before you in a narrower compass. 
But still I wish thee to remember, it is the practice of a 
duty that I am directing thee in, and therefore if thou wilt 
not practise it, do not read it. 

The sum is this, as thou makest conscience of praying 
daily, so do thou of meditation ; and more especially on the 
joys of heaven. To this end, set apart one hour, or half 

22 



254 the saint's everlasting rest. 

hour, every day, wherein thou mayest lay aside all worldly 
thoughts, and with all possible seriousness and reverence, 
as if thou wert to speak with God himself, or to have a sight 
of Christ, or of that blessed place : so withdraw thyself into 
some secret place, and set thyself wholly to the following 
work : if thou canst, take Isaac's time and place, who " went 
forth into the field in the evening to meditate :" but if thou 
be a servant, or poor man, that cannot have that leisure, take 
the fittest time and place that thou canst, though it be when 
thou art private about thy labours. 

When thou settest to the work, look up toward heaven, 
let thine eye lead thee as near as it can ; remember that 
there is thine everlasting rest ; study its excellency, study 
its reality, till thy unbelief be silenced, and thy faith prevail : 
if thy judgment be not yet drawn to admiration, use those 
sensible helps and advantages which were even now laid 
down. Compare thy heavenly joys with the choicest on 
earth, and so rise up from sense to faith ; if this mere consi- 
deration prevail not, then plead the case with thy heart : 
preach upon this text of heaven to thyself; convince, inform, 
confute, instruct, -reprove, examine, admonish, encourage 
and comfort, thy own soul from this celestial doctrine ; 
draw forth those several considerations of thy rest, on which 
thy several affections may work, especially that affection or 
grace which thou intendest to act. If it be love which thou 
wouldst act, show it the loveliness of heaven, and how 
suitable it is to thy condition ; if it be desire, consider thy 
absence from this lovely object; if it be hope, consider the 
possibility and probability of obtaining it ; if it be courage, 
consider the singular assistance and encouragements which 
thou mayest receive from God, the weakness of the enemy, 
and the necessity of prevailing ; if it be joy, consider its 
excellent, ravishing glory, thy interest in it, and its certainty, 
and the nearness of the time when thou mayest possess it. 
Urge these considerations home to thy heart ; whet them 
with all possible seriousness upon each affection: if thy 
heart draw back, force it to the work ; if it loiter, spur it 
on ; if it step aside, command it in again ; if it should slip 
away, and leave the work, use thine authority : keep it close 
to the business, till thou hast obtained thine end ; stir not 
away, if it may be, till thy love flame, till thy joy be raised, 
or till thy desire or other graces be lively. Call in assistance 
also from God, mix ejaculations with thy soliloquies; till 
having seriously pleaded the case with thy heart, and reve 
rently pleaded the case with God, thou hast pleaded thyself 
from a clod to a flame, from a forgetful sinner to a mindful 
lover : from a lover of the world, to a thirster after God : 
from a fearful coward, to a resolved Christian. In a word, 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 255 

what will not be done one day, do it the next, till thou hast 
pleaded thy heart from earth to heaven : from conversing 
below, to a walking with God ; and till thou canst lay thy 
heart to rest, as in the bosom of Christ ; in this meditation 
of thy full and everlasting rest. 



CHAPTER X. 

AN EXAMPLE OF THIS HEAVENLY CONTEMPLATION, FOR THE 
HELP OF THE UNSKILFUL. 

Rest ! How sweet a word is this to mine ears ! Methinks 
the sound doth turn to substance, and having entered at the 
ear, descended down to my very heart ; methinks I feel it 
stir and work, and that through all my parts and powers, 
but with a various work upon my various parts. To my 
wearied senses and languid spirits, it seems a quieting, 
powerful opiate ; to my dulled powers, it is spirit and life ; 
to my dark eyes, it is both eye salve and a prospective ; to 
my taste, it is sweetness; to mine ears, it is melody; to my 
hands and feet, it is strength and nimbleness : methinks I 
feel it digest as it proceeds, and increase my native heat and 
moisture, and lying as a reviving cordial at my heart, from 
thence doth send forth lively spirits, which beat through all 
the pulses of my soul. Rest ! not as the stone that rests on 
the earth, nor as these clods of flesh shall rest in the grave ; 
so our beasts must rest as well as we ; nor is it the satisfy- 
ing of our fleshly lusts, nor such a rest as the carnal world 
desire th: no, no; we have another kind of rest than these: 
rest we shall from our labours, which were but the way and 
means to rest : but yet that is the smallest part : O blessed 
rest, where we shall never rest day nor night, crying, " Holy, 
holy, holy, Lord God of Sabbaoth !" where we shall rest 
from sin, but not from worship! from suffering and sorrow, 
but not from solace 1 O blessed day, when I shall rest with 
God ! when I shall rest in the arms and bosom of my Lord ! 
when I shall rest in knowing, loving, rejoicing, and praising ! 
when my perfect soul and body together, shall in these 
perfect actings, perfectly enjoy the most perfect God! when 
God also, who is love itself, shall perfectly love me ! and 
rejoice over me with joy and singing, as I shall rejoice in 
him ! How near is that most blessed joyful day ! it comes 
apace ; even " he that comes will come, and will not tarry :" 
though my Lord seem to delay his coming, yet a little while 
and he will be here: what are a few hundred years when 
they are over? How surely will his sign appear ! and how 
suddenly wil] he seize upon the careless world ! Even as 
the lightning that shines from east to west in a moment. 



256 the saint's everlasting rest. 

He who is gone hence, will even so return. Methinks I 
hear the voice of his foregoers ! Methinks 1 see him in the 
clouds, with the attendance of his angels in majesty and 
glory ! O poor secure sinners, what will you now do ? 
where will you hide yourselves, or what shall cover you ? 
Mountains are gone, the earth and heavens that were, are 
passed away ; the devouring fire hath consumed all excepi 
yourselves, who must be the fuel for ever : O that you could 
consume as soon as the earth, and melt away as did the 
heavens .' Ah, these wishes are now but vain ; the Lamb 
himself would have been your friend, he would have loved 
you, and ruled you, and now have saved you : but you 
would not then, and now it is too late : never cry, Lord, 
Lord : too late, too late, man. Why dost thou look about ? 
can any save thee? Whither dost thou run? can any hide 
thee ? O wretch, that hast brought thyself to this ! Now 
blessed are ye that have believed and obeyed ; this is the 
end of ycur faith and patience ; this is that for which ye 
prayed and waUed ; do you now repent your sufferings and 
sorrows ? your self denying and holy walking ? are your 
tears of repentance now bitter or sweet? O see how the 
Judge doth smile upon you ! there is love in his looks ; the 
titles of Redeemer, Husband, Head, are written in his amia- 
ble face. Hark ! doth he not call you ? he bids you stand 
here on his right hand : fear not, for there he sets his sheep : 
O joyful sentence pronounced by his mouth ! " Come, ye 
blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you 
from the foundations of the world !" See how your Saviour 
takes you by the hand : the door is open : the kingdom is 
his, and therefore yours : there is your place before his 
throne : the Father receiveth you as the spouse of his Son, 
he bids you welcome to the crown of glory : never so 
unworthy, crowned you must be : this was the project oi 
free redeeming grace, the purpose of eternal love. O blessed 
grace ! O blessed love ! O the frame that my soul shall 
then be in ! But I cannot express it, I cannot conceive it ! 

This is that joy which was procured by sorrow ; this is 
that crown which was procured by the cross ; my Lord did 
weep, that now my tears might be wiped away ; he did 
bleed, that I might now rejoice ; he was forsaken, that I 
might not now be forsaken ; he did then die, that I might 
now live. This weeping, wounded Lord, shall I behold; 
this bleeding Saviour shall I see, and live in him that died 
for me. O free mercy that can exalt so vile a wretch ! free 
to me, though dear to Christ ! here must I live with all 
these saints ! O comfortable meeting of my old acquaint- 
ance, with whom I prayed, and wept, and suffered ; with 
whom I spake of this day and place ! I see the grave could 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 257 

not contain you, the sea and earth must give up their dead ; 
the same love hath redeemed and saved you also: this is 
not like our cottages of clay, our prisons, our earthly dwell- 
ings: this voice of joy is not like our old complainings, our 
groans, our sighs, our impatient moans ; nor this melodious 
praise like our scorns and revilings, nor like the oaths and 
curses which we heard on earth : this body is not like the 
body we had, nor this soul like the soul we had, nor this life 
like the life that then we lived ; we have changed our place, 
we have changed our state, our clothes, our thoughts, our 
looks, our language; we have changed our company for the 
greater part, and the rest of our company is changed itself; 
before, we were weak and despised, but now how glorious ! 
Where are now our different judgments, our divided spirits? 
Now we are all of one judgment, of one name, of one heart, 
of one house, and of one glory. O sweet reconcilement ! O 
happy union! which makes us first to be one with Christ, 
and then one with ourselves ! Now our differences shall be 
dashed in our teeth no more, nor the gospel reproached 
through our folly. O my soul, thou shalt no more lament 
the sufferings of the saints ; never more condole the church's 
ruins ; never bewail thy suffering friends, nor lie wailing 
over their death beds, or their graves: thou shalt never 
suffer thy old temptations from Satan, the world, or thy 
own flesh ; thy body will no more be such a burden to thee ; 
thy pains and sicknesses are all now cured ; thou shalt be 
troubled with weakness and weariness no more ; thy head 
is not now an aching head, nor thy heart now an aching 
heart ; thy hunger and thirst, and cold and sleep, thy labour 
and study are all gone. O what a mighty change is this : 
from the dunghill to the throne ; from a body as vile as the 
carrion in the ditch, to a body as bright as the sun in the 
firmament ! from all my doubts and fears, to this possession 
which hath put me out of doubt! from all my fearful thought 
of death, to this most blessed joyful life ! O what a change 
is this ! farewell sin and suffering for ever ; now welcome 
most holy, heavenly nature ; which as it must be employed 
in beholding the face of God, so is it full of God alone : 
delighted in nothing but him. O who can question the love 
which he doth so sweetly taste ? or doubt of that which 
with such joy he feeleth ? Farewell repentance, confession, 
and supplication ; farewell hope and faith ; and welcome 
love, and joy, and praise. I shall now have my harvest 
without ploughing or sowing ; my wine without the labour 
of the vintage ; my joy without a preacher or a promise ; 
even all from the face of God himself. Whatever mixture 
is in the streams, there is nothing but pure joy in the fountain 
Here shall I be encircled with eternity, and come forth no 

22* 



258 the saint's everlasting rest. 

more : here shall I live, and ever live, and praise my Lord, 
and ever, ever praise him. My face will not wrinkle, nor 
my hair be gray ; but, " this mortal hath put on immortality, 
and this corruptible incorruption, and death is swallowed up 
in victory : O death ! where is thy sting ? O grave ! where 
is thy victory?" The date of my lease will no more expire, 
nor shall I lose my joys through fear of losing them. When 
millions of ages are past, my glory is but beginning ; and 
when millions more are past, it is no nearer ending. Every- 
day is all noontide, and every month is May or harvest, and 
every year is there a jubilee, and every age is full manhood c 
and all this but one eternity. O blessed eternity ! the glory 
of my glory ! the perfection of my perfection ! 

Ah drowsy, earthly, blockish heart, how coolly dost thou 
think of this reviving day ! Dost thou sleep when thou 
thinkest of eternal rest? art thou hanging earthward, when 
heaven is before thee? Hadst thou rather sit thee down in 
dung, than walk in the court of the presence of God? Dost 
thou now remember thy worldly business ? Art thou think- 
ing of thy delights ? Wretched heart ! is it better to be here, 
than above with God? is the company better? are the plea- 
sures greater ? come away, make no excuse, make no delay ; 
God commands, and I command thee, come away ; gird up 
thy loins 4 ascend the mount, and look about thee with 
seriousness and with faith. Look thou not back upon the 
way of the wilderness, except it be when thine eyes are 
dazzled with the glory, or when thou wouldst compare the 
kingdom with that howling desert, that thou mayest more 
sensibly perceive the mighty difference. Fix thine eye upon 
the sun itself, and look not down to earth as long as thou 
art able to behold it ; except it be to discern more easily the 
brightness of the one by the darkness of the other. Yonder 
is thy Father's glory : yonder must thou dwell when thou 
leavest this earth : yonder must thou remove, O my soul, 
when thou departest from this body : and when the power 
of thy Lord hath raised it again, and joined thee to it, 
yonder must thou live with God for ever. There is the 
glorious "New Jerusalem, the gates of pearl, the foundations 
of pearl, the streets and pavements of transparent gold." 
Seest thou that sun which lighteth all the world ? Why, it 
must be taken down as useless there, or the glory of heaven 
will darken it, and put it out ; even thyself shall be as bright 
as yonder shining sun ; " God will be the sun, and Christ the 
light, and in his light shalt thou have light." 

O wretched heart! hath God made thee a promise of rest, 
and wilt thou come short of it, and shut out thyself through 
unbelief? Thine eyes may fail thee, thy ears deceive thee, 
and all thy senses prove delusions, sooner than a promise of 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 259 

God can delude thee. Thou may est be surer of that which 
is written in the word, than if thou see it with thy eyes, or 
feel it with thy hands. Art thou sure thou livest? or sure 
that this is the earth which thou standest on ? Art thou 
sure thine eyes see the sun? As sure is all this glory to the 
saints ; as sure shall I be higher than yonder stars, and live 
for ever in the holy city, and joyfully sound forth the praise 
of my Redeemer, if I be not shut out by the " evil heart of 
unbelief, causing me to depart from the living God." 

And is this rest so sweet, and so sure? O then, what 
means the careless world ! Do they know what it is they 
so neglect ? Did they ever hear of it ? or are they yet asleep ? 
Do they know for certain that the crown is before them, 
while they thus sit still, or follow trifles, when they are 
hasting so fast to another world, and their eternal happiness 
lies at stake ? Were there left one spark of reason, they 
would never sell their rest for toil, their glory for worldly 
vanities. Ah, poor men ! that you would once consider 
what you hazard, and then you would scorn these tempting 
baits. O blessed for ever be that ?ove, that hath rescued 
me from this mad bewitching darkness ! 

Draw nearer yet, O my soul ; bring forth thy strongest 
love ; here is matter for it to work upon : O see what beauty 
presents itself! Is it not exceeding lovely? Is not all the 
beauty in the world contracted here ? Is not all other beauty 
deformity to it? Dost thou need to be persuaded now to 
love ? Here is a feast for thine eyes : a feast for all the 
powers of thy soul. Dost thou need to be entreated to feed 
upon it ? Canst thou love a little shining earth ? Canst 
thou love a walking piece of clay ? And canst thou not 
love that God. that Christ, that glory, which is so truly and 
unmeasurably lovely ? Thou canst love thy friend because 
he loves thee: and is the love of friends like the love of 
Christ ? Their weeping or bleeding for thee doth not ease 
thee, nor stay the course of thy tears or blood : but the tears 
and blood that fell from thy Lord, have all a sovereign, 
healing virtue, and are waters of life, and balsam to thy 
fainting sores. O my soul ! if love deserve, and should 
procure love, what incomprehensible love is here before 
thee ! Pour out all the store of thy affections here : and all 
is too little, O that it were more ! Let him be first served, 
that served thee first : let him have the strength of thy love, 
who parted with strength and life in love to thee : if thou 
hast any to spare when he hath his part, let it be imparted 
then to standers by. See what a sea of love is here before 
thee: cast thyself into this ocean of his love: fear not, 
though it seems a furnace of fire, and the hottest that was 
ever kindled upon earth, yet it is the fire of love and not of 



260 the saint's everlasting rest. 

wrath ; a fire most effectual to extinguish fire ; never intended 
to consume, but to glorify thee: venture into it then in thy 
believing meditations, and walk in these flames with the 
Son of God : when thou art once in, thou wilt be sorry to 
come forth again. O my soul ! what wantest thou here to 
provoke thy love ? Dost thou love for excellency ? Why 
thou seest nothing below but baseness, except as they relate 
to thy enjoyments above. Yonder is the Goshen, the region 
of light : this is a land of palpable darkness. Yonder stars, 
that shining moon, the radiant sun, are all but as the 
lanterns hanged out at thy Father's house, to light thee 
while thou walkest in the dark streets of the earth : but 
little dost thou know the glory that is within ! Dost thou 
love for suitableness ? Why what person more suitable 
than Christ? his godhead, his manhood, his fulness, his free- 
ness, his willingness, his constancy, do all proclaim him thy 
most suitable friend. What state more suitable to thy misery 
than that of mercy ? Or to thy sinfulness and baseness, than 
that of honour and perfection? What place more suitable 
to thee than heaven ? Thou hast had a sufficient trial of 
this world : dost thou find it agree with thy nature or 
desires? Are these common abominations, these heavy 
sufferings, these unsatisfying vanities, suitable to thee ? Or 
dost thou love for interest and near relation? Where hast 
thou better interest than in heaven ? or where hast thou 
nearer relation than there ? Dost thou love for acquaintance 
and familiarity? Why though thine eyes have never seen 
the Lord, yet he is never the further from thee. If thy son 
were blind, yet he would love thee his father, though he 
never saw thee. Thou hast heard the voice of Christ to thy 
very heart; thou hast received his benefits ; thou hast lived 
in his bosom ; and art thou not yet acquainted with him ? 
It is he that brought thee seasonably and safely into the 
world; it is he that nursed thee in thy tender infancy, and 
helped thee when thou couldst not help thyself; he taught 
thee to go, to speak, to read, to understand ; he taught thee 
to know thyself and him ; he opened thee that first window 
whereby thou sawest into heaven ; hast thou forgotten since 
thy heart was careless, and he did quicken it, and make it 
yield? When it was at peace, and he did trouble it? And 
broken, till he did heal it again? Hast thou forgotten the 
time, nay, the many times, when he found thee in secret, all 
in tears ; when he heard thy sighs and groans, and left all 
to come and comfort thee? When he came in upon thee, 
and took thee up, as it were, in his arms, and asked thee, 
Poor soul, what aileth thee? Dost thou weep when I have 
wept so much ? Be of good cheer, thy wounds are saving 
and not deadly. It is I that have made them, who mean 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 261 

thee no hurt ; though I let out thy blood, I will not let out 
thy life. 

Methinks I remember yet his voice, and feel those arms 
that took me up. How gently did he handle me ! How 
carefully did he dress my wounds, and bind them up ! 
Methinks I hear him still saying, Though thou hast dealt 
unkindly with me, yet will not I do so by thee ; though 
thou hast set light by me, and all my mercies, yet both I 
and all are thine. What wouldst thou have that I cannot 
give thee? and what dost thou want that I cannot give thee? 
If any thing in heaven and earth will make thee happy, it is 
all thine own. Wouldst thou have pardon ? thou shalt have 
it. I freely forgive thee all the debt. Wouldst thou have 
grace and peace ? thou shalt have them both. Wouldst thou 
have myself? behold I am thine, thy friend, thy Lord, thy 
husband, and thy head. Wouldst thou have the Father? I 
will bring thee to him ; and thou shalt have him in and by 
me. These were my Lord's reviving words ; these were the 
melting, healing, quickening passages of love. After all this, 
when I was doubtful of his love, methinks I yet remember 
his convincing arguments : Have I done so much to testify 
my love, and yet dost thou doubt ? Have I made thy be- 
lieving it the condition of enjoying it, and yet dost thou 
doubt ? Have I offered thee myself so long, and yet dost 
thou question my willingness to be thine ? What could I 
have done more than I have done? At what dearer rate should 
I tell thee that I love thee ? Read the story of my bitter 
passion; wilt thou not believe that it proceeded from love? 
Did I ever give thee cause to be so jealous of me? or to 
think so hardly of me as thou dost? Have I made myself 
in the gospel a lion to thine enemies, and a lamb to thee; 
and dost thou so overlook my iamb-like nature ? Have 1 
set mine arms and heart there open to thee, and wilt thou 
not believe but they are shut? If I had been willing to let 
thee perish, I could have done it at a cheaper rate : what 
need I follow thee with so long patience and entreating? 
What, dost thou tell me of thy wants ; have I not enough 
for me and thee? and why dost thou tell me of thy unworthi- 
ness, and thy sin? I had not died if man had not sinned: if 
thou wert not a sinner, thou wert not for me ; if thou wert 
worthy thyself, what shouldst thou do with my worthiness? 
Did I ever invite the worthy and righteous? or did I ever 
save or justify such? or is there any such on earth? Hast 
thou nothing? art thou lost and miserable? art thou helpless 
and forlorn ? dost thou believe that I am a sufficient Saviour? 
and wouldst thou have me ? why then take me. Lo, I am 
thine ; if thou be willing, I am willing, and neither sin nor 
devils shall break the match. 



, 262 the saint's everlasting rest. 

These, O these were the blessed words which his Spirit 
from his gospel spoke unto me, till he made me cast myself 
at his feet, yea, into his arms, and cry out, " My Saviour 
and my Lord, thou hast broke my heart, thou hast revived 
my heart, thou hast overcome, thou hast won my heart ; 
take it, it is thine ! if such a heart can please thee, take it : 
if it cannot, make it as thou wouldst have it." 

Thus, O my soul, mayest thou remember the sweet fami- 
iarity thou hast had with Christ ; therefore if acquaintance 
will cause affection, O then knit thy heart unto him ; it is he 
that hath stood by thy bed of sickness, that hath cooled thy 
heats, and eased thy pains, and refreshed thy weariness, and 
removed thy fears ; he hath been always ready, when thou 
hast earnestly sought him ; he hath given thee the meeting 
in public and in private ; he hath been found of thee in the 
congregation, in thy house, in thy chamber, in the field, in 
the way as thou wast walking, in thy waking nights, in thy 
deepest dangers. If bounty and compassion be an attractive 
of love, how unmeasurably then am I bound to love him! 
All the mercies that have filled up my life tell me this! all 
the places that ever I did abide in, every condition of life 
that I have passed through, all my employments, and all 
my relations, every change that hath befallen me, all tell 
me, that the fountain is overflowing goodness. 

Lord, what a sum of love am I indebted to thee, and how 
doth my debt continually increase ! How should I love 
again for so much love ! But what ! shall I dare to think 
of making thee requital, or of recompensing all thy love 
with mine ? Will my mite requite thee for thy golden 
mines? or mine, which is nothing, or not mine, for thine, 
which is infinite and thine own ? Shall I dare to contend in 
love with thee? or set my borrowed spark against the sun 
of love ? Can I love as high, as deep, as broad, as long, as 
love itself; as much as he that made me, and that made me 
live, that gave me all that little which I have ? Both the 
heart, the fire, the fuel, and all, were his : as I cannot match 
thee in the works of thy power, nor make, nor preserve, 
nor guide, the world ; so why should I think any more of 
matching thee in love ? No, Lord, I yield, I am overcome ; 
O blessed conquest! go on victoriously, and still prevail, 
and triumph in thy love ; the captive of love shall proclaim 
thy victory, when thou leadest me in triumph from earth 
to heaven, from death to life, from the tribunal to the 
throne ; myself, and all that see it, shall acknowledge that 
thou hast prevailed, and all shall say, " Behold how he 
loved him !" Yet let me love thee, in subjection to thy 
love as thy redeemed captive, though I cannot reach thy 
measure. 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 263 

O my soul, begin it here ; be sick of love now, that thou 
mayest be well with love there: "Keep thyself now in the 
love of God," and let neither life, nor death, nor any thing, 
separate thee from it, and thou shalt be kept in the fulness 
of love for ever ; for the Lord hath prepared a city of love, 
a place for the communicating of love to his chosen, and 
those that love his name shall dwell there. 

Away then, O my drowsy soul, from this world's uncom- 
fortable darkness ! The night of thy ignorance and misery 
is past, the day of glorious light is at hand ; this is the day- 
break betwixt them both : though thou see not yet the sun 
itself appear, methinks the twilight of promise should revive 
thee ! Come forth then, and leave these earthly cells, and 
hear thy Lord that bids thee rejoice, and again rejoice ! 
Thou hast lain here long enough in thy prison of flesh, 
where Satan hath been thy jailer ; where cares have been 
thy irons, and fears thy scourge, and the bread and water 
of affliction thy food ; where sorrows have been thy lodging, 
and a carnal, hard, unbelieving heart, the iron gates and 
bars that have kept thee in, that thou couldst scarce have 
leave to look through the lattices, and see one glimpse of 
the immortal light : the angel of the covenant now calls 
thee, and strikes thee, and bids thee arise and follow him : 
up, O my soul, and cheerfully obey, and thy bolts and bars 
shall all fly open ; do thou obey, and all will obey ; follow 
the Lamb which way soever he leads thee : art thou afraid, 
because thou knowest not whither ? Can the place be worse 
than where thou art ? Shouldst thou fear to follow such a 
guide ? Can the sun lead thee to a state of darkness ? Or 
can he mislead thee that " is the light that lighteth every 
man that cometh into the world?" Will he lead thee to 
death, who died to save thee from it? Or can he do thee 
any hurt, who for thy sake did suffer so much ? Follow 
him, and he will show thee the paradise of God, he will 
give thee a sight of the New Jerusalem, he will give thee a 
taste of the tree of life : thy winter is past, and wilt thou 
house thyself still in earthly thoughts ; and confine thyself 
to drooping and dulness? 

Come forth, O my drooping soul, and lay aside thy winter, 
mourning robes ; let it be seen in thy believing joys and 
praise, that the day is appearing, and the spring is come; 
and as now thou seest thy comforts green, thou shalt shortly 
see them white and ripe for harvest; and then thou, who 
art now called forth to see and taste, shalt be called forth to 
reap, and gather, and take possession. Shall I suspend and 
delay my joys till then ? Should not the joys of the spring 
go before the joys of harvest ? Is the heir in no better a 
state than the slave ? My Lord hath taught me to rejoice in 



264 the saint's everlasting rest. 

the hope of his glory, and to see it through the bars of a 
prison ; and even when I am " persecuted for righteousness' 
sake," when I am " reviled, and all manner of evil said 
against me for his sake," then he hath commanded me " to 
rejoice and be exceeding glad, because of this my great 
reward in heaven." How justly is an unbelieving heart 
possessed by sorrow, and made a prey to cares and fears, 
when itself doth create them, and thrust away its offered 
peace and joy ! I know it is the pleasure of my bounteous 
Lord, that none of his family should want comfort, nor live 
such a poor and miserable life, nor look with such a famished 
dejected face. I know he would have my joys exceed my 
sorrows ; and as much as he delights in the humble and 
contrite, yet doth he more delight in the soul as it delighteth 
in him. Hath my Lord spread me a table in this wilderness, 
and furnished it with promises of everlasting glory, and set 
before me angels' food, and broached for me the side of his 
beloved Son, that I might have a better wine than the blood 
of the grape? Doth. he so importunately invite me to sit 
down, and draw forth my faith, and feed, and spare not? 
Nay, hath he furnished me to that end with reason, and 
faith, and a rejoicing disposition? And yet is it possible 
that he should be unwilling I should rejoice ? Never think 
it, O my unbelieving soul : nor dare charge him with thy 
uncomfortable heaviness, who offereth thee the foretastes 
of the highest delight that heaven can afford, and God can 
bestow. Doth he not bid thee " delight thyself in the Lord ?" 
and promise to give thee " the desires of thy heart ?" Hath 
he not charged thee " to rejoice evermore ?" Yea, " to sing 
aloud, and shout for joy?" 

Away, you cares and fears ! away, you importunate sor- 
rows! stay here below, whilst I go up and see my rest. 
The way is strange to me, but not to Christ. There was 
the eternal dwelling of his glorious Deity ; and thither hath 
he also brought his glorified flesh. It was his work to pur- 
chase it ; it is his work to prepare it, and to prepare me for 
it, and to bring me to it. The eternal God of truth hath 
given me his promise, his seal, and his oath, to assure me, 
that " believing in Christ I shall not perish, but have ever- 
lasting life:" thither shall my soul be speedily removed, 
and my body shortly follow. And can my tongue say, that 
I shall shortly and surely live with God, and yet my heart not 
leap within me? Can I say it believingly, and not rejoicingly? 
Ah faith ! how do I perceive thy weakness? ah unbelief! if I 
had never known it before, how sensibly do I now perceive 
thy malicious tyranny? But were it not for thee, what abund- 
ance might I have ? The light of heaven would shine into my 
heart, and I might be as familiar there as I am on earth. 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 305 

Come away, my soul, then ; stand not looking on that 
grave, nor turning those bones, nor reading thy lesson in 
the dust : those lines will soon be wiped out : but lift up 
thy head and look to heaven, and read thy instructions in 
those fixed stars : or yet look higher than those eyes can 
see, into that foundation which standeth sure, and see thy 
name written in the book of life. What if an angel should 
come from heaven and tell thee, Thai there is a mansion 
prepared for thee ; that it shall certainly be thine own, and 
thou shalt possess it for ever ; would not such a message 
make thee glad r And dost thou make light of the infallible 
word of promises which were delivered by the Spirit, and 
by the Lord himself ? 

What delight have I found in my private studies, especially 
when they have prospered to the increase of knowledge ! 
Methinks I could bid the world farewell, and immure myself 
among my books, and look forth no more, (were it a lawful 
course,) but shut the door upon me, and among those divine 
souls employ myself in sweet content, and pity the rich and 
great ones that know not happiness. Sure then it is a high 
delight indeed, which in the lap of eternity is enjoyed ! 

If the queen of Sheba came from Ethiopia to hear the 
wisdom of Solomon, and see his glory ; O how gladly should 
I pass from earth to heaven, to see the glory of that eternal 
majesty ; and to attain myself that height of wisdom, in 
comparison of which, the most learned on earth are but 
fools and idiots ! If the heaven of glass which the Persian 
emperor framed, were so glorious a piece, and the heaven 
of silver which the emperor Ferdinand sent to the great 
Turk, because of their rare artificial representations and 
motions, what will the heaven of heavens be, which is not 
formed by the art of man, or beautified like these childish 
toys, but it is the matchless palace of the great King, built 
by himself for the residence of his glory, and the perpetual 
entertainment of his beloved saints ! 

I cannot here enjoy my parents, or my beloved friends, 
without some delight ; what will it then be to live in the 
perpetual love of God ! For brethren here to live together 
in unity, how good and pleasant a thing is it ! To see a 
family live in love : husbands, wives, parents, children, 
servants, doing all in love to one another ! Othen, what a 
blessed society will be the family of heaven, and those 
peaceable inhabitants of the New Jerusalem ! Where is 
no division, nor disaffection, nor strangeness, nor deceitful 
friendship; never an angry thought or look; never an 
unkind expression ; but all one in Christ, who is one with 
the Father, and live in the love of Love himself. 

Awake then, O my drowsy soul, and look above this 
23 



266 the saint's everlasting rest. 

world of sorrow ! Hast thou borne the yoke of afflictions 
from thy youth, and so long felt the smarting rod, and yet 
canst no better understand its meaning ? Is not every stroke 
to drive thee hence? and is not the voice like that to Elijah, 
"What dost thou here? up, and away." Dost thou forget 
that sure prediction of the Lord, " In the world ye shall 
have trouole. but in me ye shall have peace." The first 
thou hast found true by long experience ; and of the latter 
thou hast had a small foretaste ; but the perfect peace is yet 
before, which, till it be enjoyed, cannot be clearly understood. 
Ah, my Lord, I feel thy meaning; it is written in my 
flesh ; it is engraven in my bones : my heart thou aimest at : 
thy rod doth drive, thy silken cord of love doth draw ; and 
all to bring it to thyself: can such a heart be worth thy 
having? Make it so, Lord, and then it is thine : take it to 
thyself, and then take me. I can but reach it toward thee, 
and not unto thee: I am too low, and it »s too dull: this 
clod hath life to stir, but not to rise : as the feeble child to 
the tender mother, it looketh up to thee, and stretcheth out 
the hands, and fain would have thee take it up. Indeed, 
Lord, my soul is in a strait, and what to choose I know not, 
but thou knowest what to give ; to depart and be with thee, 
is best ; but yet to be in the flesh seems needful. Thou 
knowest I am not weary of thy work ; I am willing to stay 
while thou wilt here employ me, and to despatch the work 
which thou hast put-in my hands; but I beseech thee stay 
no longer when this is done ; and while I must be here, let 
me be still amending and ascending ; make me still better, 
and take me at the best. I dare not be so impatient of living, 
as to importune thee to cut off my time, and urge thee to 
snatch me hence : nor yet would I stay when my work is 
done ; and remain under thy feet, while they are in thy 
bosom : I am thy child as well as they ; Christ is my head 
as well as theirs : why is there then so great a distance ? I 
acknowledge the equity of thy ways: though we are all 
children, yet I am the prodigal, and therefore meeter in this 
remote country to feed on husks, while they are always 
with thee, and possess thy glory : but they were once in 
my condition, aud I shall shortly be in theirs : they were of 
the lowest form before they came to the highest ; they suf- 
fered before they reigned ; they came out of great tribulation, 
who now are standing before thy throne; and shall not I 
be content to come to the crown as they did ? and to drink 
of their cup before I sit with them in the kingdom ? I am 
contented, O my Lord, to stay thy time, and go thy way, so 
thou wilt exalt me also in thy season, and take me into thy 
barn when thou seest me ripe. In the meantime I may 
desire, though I am not to repine ; I may believe and wish % 



the saint's everlasting rest. 267 

though not make sinful haste; I am content to wait, but not 
to lose thee : and when thou seest me too contented with 
thine absence, quicken then my dull desires, and blow up 
the dying spark of love : and leave me' not till I arn able 
un feigned ly to cry out, " As the hart panteth after the 
brooks, and the dry land thirsteth for water streams, so 
thirsteth my soul after thee, O God : when shall I come 
and appear before the living God?" What interest hath 
this empty world in me ! and what is there in it that may 
seem so lovely, as to entice my desires and delight from 
thee, or to make me loath to come away? Draw forth my 
soul to thyself by the secret power of thy love, as the sun- 
shine in the spring draws forth the creatures from their 
winter cells ; meet it half way, and entice it to thee, as the 
loadstone doth the iron : dispel the clouds that hide from 
me thy love, or remove the scales that, hinder mine eyes 
from beholding thee : for only the beams that stream from 
thy face, and the taste of thy salvation, can make a soul un- 
feignedly say, " Lord, now let thy servant depart in peace." 
Send forth thy convoy of angels for my departing soui 3 
and let them bring it among the perfect spirits of the just, 
and let me follow my dear friends that have died in Christ 
before ; and when my friends are crying over my grave, let 
my spirit be reposed with thee in rest; and when my corpse 
shall lie there rotting in the dark, let my soul be in the 
inheritance of the saints in light. And O thou that num- 
berest the hairs of my head, number all the days that my 
body lies in the dust ; thou that writest all my members in 
thy book, keep an account of all my scattered bones ; and 
hasten, O my Saviour, the time of my return ; send forth 
thine angels, and let that dreadful, joyful trumpet sound ; 
delay not, lest the living give up their hopes ; delay not, 
lest earth should grow like hell, and lest thy church, by 
divisions, be crumbled to dust; delay not, lest thine enemies 
get advantage of thy flock, and lest pride, and hypocrisy, 
and sensuality, and unbelief, should prevail against thy 
little remnant, and share among them thy whole inheritance, 
and when thou comest thou find not faith on the earth ; 
delay not, lest the grave should boast of victory, and refuse 
to deliver up thy due. O hasten that great resurrection day! 
when thy command shall go forth, and none shall disobey; 
when the sea and earth shall yield up their hostages, and all 
that sleep in the grave shall awake, and the dead in Christ 
shall first arise ; when the seed that thou sowedst corruptible, 
shall come forth incorruptible ; and graves that received but 
rottenness, and retained but dust, shall return thee glorious 
stars and suns : therefore dare I lay down my carcass in the 
dust, entrusting it not to a grave, but to thee ; and therefore 



268 the saint's everlasting rest. 

my flesh shall rest in hope, till thou raise it to the everlast- 
ing rest. Return, O Lord, how long ! O let thy kingdom 
come ! thy desolate bride saith, Come ; for thy Spirit within 
her saith, Come, who teacheth her thus to pray, with groan- 
ings which cannot be expressed : the whole creation saith, 
Come, waiting to be delivered from the bondage of corruption 
into the glorious liberty of the sons of God : thyself hath 
said, " Surely I come : Amen ; even so, come, Lord Jesus." 



THE CONCLUSION. 

Thus, reader, I have given thee my best advice for the 
attaining and maintaining a heavenly conversation. The 
manner is imperfect, and too much my own : but for the 
main matter, I received it from God. From him I deliver 
it thee, and his charge I lay upo!i thee, that thou entertain 
and practise it. . If thou canst not do it fully, do it as thou 
canst ; only be sure thou do it seriously and frequently. If 
thou wilt believe a man that hath made some small trial of 
it, thou shalt find it will make thee another man, and elevate 
thy soul, and clear thy understanding, and leave a pleasant 
savour upon thy heart; so that thy own experience will 
make thee confess, that one hour thus spent will more 
effectually revive thee, than many in bare external duties ; 
and a day in these contemplations will afford thee truer 
content, than all the glory and riches of the earth. Be 
acquainted with this work, and thou wilt be acquainted 
with God ; thy joys will be spiritual and lasting; thou wilt 
have comfort in life, and comfort in death ; wmen thou hast 
neither wealth, nor health, nor the pleasures of this world, 
yet wilt thou have comfort ; comfort without the presence 
or help of any friend, without a minister, without a book; 
when all means are denied thee, or taken from thee, yet 
mayest thou have vigorous, real comfort. Thy graces will 
be active and victorious ; and the daily joy which is thus 
fetched from heaven, will be thy strength : thou wilt be as 
one that standeth on the top of an exceeding high mountain ; 
he looks down on the world as if it were quite below him ; 
how small do the fields, and woods, and countries, seem to 
him ? cities and towns seem but little spots. Thus despicably 
wilt thou look on all things here below : the greatest princes 
will seem but as grasshoppers, and the busy, contentious, 
covetous world, but as heaps of ants. Men's threatenings will 
be no terror to thee; nor the honours of this world any strong 
enticement; temptations will be harmless, as having lost their 
strength ; and afflictions less grievous, as having lost their 
sting ; and every mercy will be better known and relished. 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 269 

Reader, it is (under God) in thy own choice now, whether 
thou wilt live this blessed life or not; and whether all these 
pains which I have taken for thee, shall prosper or be lost. 
If it be lost through thy laziness (which God forbid) thou 
wilt prove the greater loser thyself. 

O man, what hast thou to mind, but God and heaven? art 
thou not almost out of this world already? dost thou not 
look every day, when one disease or other will let out thy 
soul? doth not the bier stand ready to carry thee to the 
grave ? and the worms wait to feed upon thy face and heart? 
what if thy pulse must beat a few strokes more ? and what 
if thou hast a few more breaths to fetch, before thou breathe 
thy last? and what if thou hast a few more nights to sleep, 
before thou sleep in the dust ? Alas, what will this be, when 
it is gone ? and is it not almost gone already ? Shortly thou 
wilt see thy glass run out, and say thyself, My life is done ! 
my time is gone ! there is nothing now but heaven or hell : 
where then should thy heart be now, but in heaven ? Didst 
thou but know what a dreadful thing it is to have a doubt 
of heaven, when a man lies dying, it would rouse thee up. 

O what a life might men live, if they were but willing and 
diligent ! God would have our joys to be far more than our 
sorrows ; yea, he would have us to have no sorrow but what 
tendeth to joy ; and no more than our sins have made neces- 
sary for our good. How much do those Christians wrong 
God and themselves, that either make their thoughts of God 
the inlet of their sorrows, or let these offered joys lie by, as 
neglected or forgotten ! Some there be that say, It is not 
worth so much time and trouble, to think of the greatness of 
the joys above. But as these men obey not the command of 
God, which requireth them to have their affections on things 
above ; so do they wilfully make their own lives miserable, 
by refusing the delights that God hath set before them. And 
yet if this were all, it were a smaller matter ; if it were but 
loss of their comforts, I would not say much ; but see what 
abundance of other mischiefs follow the absence of these 
heavenly delights. 

First, It will damp, if not destroy, our very love to God ; 
so deeply as we apprehend his exceeding love to us, and his 
purpose to make us eternally happy, so much will it raise 
our love : love to God, and delight in him, are still conjunct. 
They that conceive of God as one that desireth their blood 
and damnation, cannot heartily love him. 

Secondly, It will make us have rare and unpleasing 
thoughts of God ; for our thoughts will follow our love and 
delight. Did we more delight in God than in any thing 
below our thoughts would as freely run after him, as they 
now run from him. 



270 the saint's everlasting rest. 

Thirdly, And it will make men have as rare and unpleas- 
ing speech of God; for who will care for talking of that 
which he hath no delight in ? What makes men still talking 
of worldliness, or wickedness, but that these are more 
pleasant to them than God? 

Fourthly, Men will have no delight in the service of God, 
when they have no delight in God, nor any sweet thoughts 
of heaven, which is the end of their services. No wonder if 
such Christians complain, that they are still backward to 
duty ; that they have no delight in prayer, in sacraments, or 
in Scripture itself: if thou couldst once delight in God, thou 
would^t easily delight in duty; especially that which bringeth 
thee into the nearest converse with him ; but till then, no 
wonder if thou be weary of all. 

Fifthly, This want of heavenly delight will leave men 
under the power of every affliction ; they will have nothing 
to comfort them and ease them in their sufferings, but the 
empty, ineffectual pleasures of the flesh ; and when that is 
gone, where then is their delight? 

Sixthly, It will make them fearful and unwilling to die: 
for who would go to a God, or a place, that he hath no delight 
in? Or who would leave his pleasure here, except it were 
to go to better? But if men take delight in God whilst they 
live, they will not tremble at the tidings of death. 

If God would persuade you now to make conscience of 
this duty, and help you in it by the blessed influence of his 
Spirit, you would not change your lives with the greatest 
prince on earth. But I am afraid, if I may judge of your 
hearts by the backwardness of my own, that it will prove a 
hard thing to persuade you to the work. Pardon my jeal- 
ousy; it is raised upon too many and sad experiments. 
What say you? Do you resolve on this heavenly course 
or no? Will you let go all your sinful pleasures, and daily 
Seek these higher delights? I pray thee, reader, consider of 
it, and resolve on the work before thou goest further. Let 
thy family perceive, let thy neighbours perceive, let thy 
conscience perceive, yea, let God perceive it, that thou art 
a man that hast thy conversation in heaven. God hath now 
offered to be thy daily delight ; thy neglect is thy refusal. 
Take heed what thou dost: refuse this, and refuse all : thou 
must have heavenly delights, or none that are lasting. God 
is willing thou shouldst daily walk with him, and fetch in 
consolation from the everlasting fountain : if thou be un- 
willing, bear the loss; and when thou liest dying, then seek 
for comfort where thou canst. O how is the unseen God 
neglected, and the unseen glory forgotten ! and all for want 
of that " faith which is the substance of things hoped for, 
and the evidence of things that are not seen." 



THE SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST. 271 

But for you whose hearts God hath weaned from all 
tnings here below, I hope you will fetch one walk daily in 
the New Jerusalem! God is your love, and your desire; 
and I know you would fain be more acquainted with your 
Saviour, and I know it is your grief that your hearts are not 
more near him ; and that they do not more passionately 
love and delight in him. As ever you would enjoy your 
desires, try this life of meditation on your everlasting rest. 

O thou, the merciful Father of spirits, the attractive of 
love, and ocean of delights, draw up these drossy hearts 
unto thyself, and keep them there till they are spiritualized 
and refined, and second these thy servant's weak endeavours, 
and persuade those that read these lines, to the practice of 
this delightful, heavenly work. O suffer not the soul of thy 
most unworthy servant to be a stranger to those joys which 
he unfoldeth to thy people, or to be seldom in that way 
which he hath marked out to others ; but O keep me, while 
I tarry on this earth, in daily, serious breathings after thee, 
and in a believing, affectionate walking with thee ; and when 
thou comest, O let me be found so doing, not hiding my 
talent, nor serving my flesh, nor yet asleep, with my lamp 
unfurnished, but waiting and longing for my Lord's return ; 
that those who shall read these directions, may not reap 
only the fruit of my studies, but the breathings of my active 
hope and love ; that if my heart were open to their view, 
they might there read the same most deeply engraven with 
a beam from the face of the Son of God ; and not find vanity, 
or lust, or pride, within, where the words of life appear 
without; that so these lines may not witness against me: 
but proceeding from the heart of the writer, may be effectual, 
through thy grace, upon the heart of the reader, and so be 
the savour of life to both. 

Glory be to God in the highest : on earth peace : good will 
toward men. 



THE END. 



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